Zootopia: Two Worlds
by ZombieSlayerOfTheUnderWorld
Summary: Judy Hopps has a dream to become a cop in the city of Zootopia. However she will soon find out that life can be harder than even that of which no bunny has done before especially when she grows up and falls for a human. Will she be able to act on her feelings when his kind is so foreign to her and humans have been labeled as dangerous and violent. An AU novelization of Zootopia.
1. Chapter 1

_Prologue: What Lies Beyond the Scar of the World_

 _Where worlds collide_  
 _Blood divides_  
 _When darkness falls_  
 _Fate calls_

 _~Ruelle - Take It All~_

* * *

 _Fate can be a funny thing. That is something that is held true to our daily lives in both the synergy of cruelty and mercy. Fate can determine who we are, what we will become, and what our actions both in this world and past it will take shape and cast an echo across the scape of time. Little do many know of the potential that can exist in such a volatile system. That was echoed clearly across the civilized world when the destiny of two collectives crossed their paths in a shocking revelation that demonstrated not just how funny fate is, but the influence that fate has on the forces that shape the world. Forces such as that of evolution, of which unbeknownst to us was at work setting the stage for the scene of this shocking reveal. Both societies only but mere pawns in this unscripted show of which had us dancing on the strings of our puppet masters._

 _The planet that fate and its cohorts had chosen was none other than that of our own familiar planet we call home. There exists several continents on this planet, but none were bigger than that of Pangea and Zootopia. These two continents are technically sub continents as they share the same land mass, only divided by one of the deepest and widest canyons on Earth. On one side of the continent, on the sub-continent of Zootopia, evolution set out over the course of millions of years shaping the various species that would eventually come to rule this land as their own. Only thousands of years ago did these species that dwelled here base their daily lives on survival, survival based on savagery…eat or be eaten. However, that savagery was soon put aside so that all species that dwelled here would live in harmony, and eventually found this great society at the heart of this land…at a place that would soon be called Zootopia._

 _Meanwhile, on the other side of this super continent was the sub-continent of Pangea. Here, society was a bit more uniform, but also dominated by a single species that would soon rise up from hundreds of thousands of years of evolution. While other creatures such as Amphibians, Avian, and reptilian species lived in Zootopia along with Mammals, they all paled in comparison to that of Homo-Sapiens, the last genetic evolution of this linage of primate. They would be known throughout the civilized world as humans. Life in this land was driven off of dominance for resources, food and territory, but unlike that of Zootopia, it would be another form of savagery that would drive this…war. In the beginning of their society, the collective of both their land and their species was called the Commonwealth Federation. Eventually these humans would grow and change into a united species, a singular super nation that would produce massive strides in technology, art and literature, and science, but would continue to cling to the darker nature of their kind. The brutality of which was both a driving factor of their society as well as marred it._

 _Two pawns dropped into this world, driven by the forces that made them who and what they are. Zootopia, a land of harmony, with strides in their own quest for science and technology. Pangea, a land of unity through violence, dominance, and a singular dominate species living in its borders. The stage has been set. The actors put in place, and the final reveal for all soon to see. Only both sides had no idea of what would happen, nor would either side foresee that these two "worlds" would collide thirty years ago not by the actions of war, nor the actions of conquest, but of four simple humans making a daring journey to see what was beyond the imposing canyon that laid to the East of their border._

 _This is our story on how two completely different species met._

* * *

It was a warm, spring day that day. The sun was shining, periodically revealing its figure out from behind the scattered dark clouds that rolled gently through the sky. There was just a gentle mid spring breeze that rolled across the land. It was a day that was both average, and yet seemed to promise some possible surprise. Oh, what a surprise that day would be. It was the day that four of the exotic foreign creatures from across the Canyon had decided to plan an expedition to see what laid beyond this canyon, or as both sides had seemed to refer to it as, The Scar of the World. These exotic creatures, these…humans, which were making this expedition, were part of a scientific effort by the Commonwealth Federation to catalogue what was past their only land border. It is from this quest for knowledge that these hairless creatures had, this sense of discovery, which would lead to one of the greatest finds of the century for both sides. Still, fate would not have it that easy. It would not be some simple story with a happy ending, no fairy tale. No…it would get more complicated than that…

A figure climbed up on top of a raised uneven boulder, one of the many reddish-brown lumps of rock that lay scattered around him. The sun, which was out for most of the day, had been beating down onto the sandstone rock that formed the Scar of the World. Even an hour after the sun being mostly blocked by the now rolling in dark clouds, the rocky area around him was still unmercifully warm, much more than the air above the canyon probably was. The man, clothed in cargo shorts, a white T-shirt and canvas vest and a ballpark cap, was forced to wipe the sweat which was very slowly running down his forehead to his eyes and nose away with his T-shirt. He stood atop of the boulder and tried to figure how far away he and his team were from the far canyon wall, the one that would present the next challenge in their trip…climbing it up to the top. The heat that radiated off of the sandstone around him distorted his view into the distance with the classic optical illusion effect. However, he could clearly see the other wall. He could also speculate that he and the crew were probably another hour to the wall. The man groaned with annoyance, not in part just to the near unbearable heat that felt like was roasting him, but mainly cause him and his team had been trekking through the canyon floor for nearly eight hours. He knew it was called the Scar of the World for a reason, but it had looked like a shorter trek from back up top, on their side of the canyon.

He heard the sound of footsteps contacting rock with a heavy hearty sound of that of a hiking boot. The man turned around and saw the three other members of his team catching up with him, each one appearing as exhausted if not more so than he was.

The first team member was Professor James Murdock, a biologist from the University of Hamden in the city of Hamden. James was a lighter skinned Caucasian of Anglo ancestry whose non-muscular build made it clearly evident that he was not used to field work such as this. Though he was in his late forties, he was doing a remarkable job in keeping up with the rest of the group. James was assigned to the expedition by their group sponsoring their expedition due to the need to accurately and precisely catalogue any possible forms of ecology that laid in the stretch of unknown land on the other side of the Canyon. The groups sponsor was actually the University of Hamden's Department of Natural Sciences, of which wanted James to take two of his grad students and himself across the Canyon to discover and catalogue any species both currently known and undiscovered that call this unfamiliar expanse of land home.

The team member behind James was the group's medic, Nicolai Voltenski. Nicolai had formal medical training as an army medic in the Commonwealth Federation Army, assigned within the 171st Mechanized Battalion. Though his service with the Army ended more than 5 years ago, Nicolai found a new job working with the University as the field medic for all of their science department's expeditions. He was slightly darker skinned than James, as his ancestry is Slavic. He was also dressed in tan cargo shorts, but was wearing a green T-shirt and was carrying a medical backpack.

The last team member was one of Professor Murdock's grad students, Sarah Chen. When she had found out that the University and Professor Murdock were planning on sponsoring this type of fieldwork, specifically in her major and field of Ecology, she was one of the first of his grad students to sign up. She was credited by the Professor as his brightest grad student he's currently worked with, and she was not just strong mentally, but physically as well.

James wiped the sweat from his brow as he then reached to his backpack and grabbed his water canteen. He unscrewed it as he spoke with a winded English accent to the man in front of him, "So Samuel, how far is it to the other side of the Canyon do you think?" James then took a long swig of water before offering the canteen to Samuel in front of him. Samuel grabbed the canteen and took a short sip before saying, "Maybe another hour to the wall." He then added with a sigh of annoyance, "Then comes the fun part of climbing up it." He took a longer sip before handing the canteen back to James.

Samuel Smith was Professor Murdock's second grad student that he chose for this expedition. He was a darker skinned 23 year old man of African descent who was almost as knowledgeable in the field of Ecology as his fellow student Sarah.

Professor Murdock grabbed his canteen from Samuel and then added, "Well then let's get going then, shall we? I'll lead for a while." The professor started walking ahead of where Samuel stood, holding his backpack straps that were still around his shoulders with both hands.

Sarah came up to Samuel and muttered softly, "…And I thought I was the one with the crazy love for science. Shouldn't we take a break or something after hiking for hours straight?"

To both her surprise and Samuel's, the professor then spoke up loudly saying, "Well let's get going you two, Science and discovery wait for no man."

The two of them looked towards the professor's direction to see that he and Nikolai were already walking towards the wall.

Sarah sighed and she said, "I guess not then…"

Later the group had made it to the wall, and after a harrowing climb in which Samuel almost suffered a steep drop off the wall, the group made it to the top. They were all personally grateful for the high quality climbing gear and safety gear they had used, and would use again to get back in 36 hours' time after exploring and cataloguing the forms of plant, insect and aquatic life that lived within this new lands ecosystem.

The group began the scientific part of their expedition. Murdock and two grad students began with taking some bio-samples from an unfamiliar tree species.

"Incredible Professor, this tree seems to be a new species of Ginkgophyta" said Sarah with clear enthusiasm in her voice as she closely studied the leaves of the tree.

Meanwhile, Nikolai was completely bored listening to the three of these science majors go on and on about words that had no meaning to him. He sighed and began to walk slowly and scout the surrounding area for possible dangers, an old habit of his former military training he had. Once he was out of sight of the science guys, but still close enough to vaguely hear them, he grabbed his medical backpack and unzipped one of the compartments to double check on the "personal security" he secretly brought along…A M1911 .45cal Colt pistol. He wanted to make sure if something went sideways out here, that they would have a fighting chance.

Nikolai began to walk over the crest of a hill that was slightly in front of him to get the lay of the land. Though Nikolai was doing this out of pure amusement of his paranoia that came from his training, he was stunned at what lay off in the distance beyond the hill.

Stretching off into the horizon was what one would expect from being away from civilization: Trees, grass, flowers, rivers, the usual things. However, something was cutting in a controlled and slightly curving fashion across the landscape…

A road.

Nikolai was stunned and perplexed at how there could be a road where no civilization existed, but even that too was proven to be even more shocking. When Nikolai followed the path of the road with his eyes, scanning to the right, he found…a town.

The buildings looked so unusual to him, their architectural design resembling something foreign and alien to him. Nikolai could see movement in the town, but it was too far away for him to be able to make out what it was.

Nikolai just stood, frozen with shock at what he was seeing. That is until he heard a voice cry out, "Guys, I found him. He's over here."

Nikolai was still too stunned to really pay them too much attention to the voice, which he knew to belong to Samuel.

Nikolai heard the two science majors and the professor jogging up towards him.

Samuel kept staring into the distance as they approached him.

"Nikolai, what's going on? You alright, mate" asked the Professor?

Nikolai finally regained his composure and snapped back to reality. He looked behind him and said, "Uh…you three need to see this."

The three of them walked further up the hill as Samuel said, "What's got you so…"

When the three of them saw the road and the town, Samuel trailed off and finished with a shocked and flat voice, "Spooked."

The four of them stared off at the town, Nikolai trying to piece together what sort of people could have built this town…or if they even were people. Meanwhile, the Professor spoke with shock, "Do my eyes deceive me, is that a town?"

To this, Sarah then said, "It sure looks like it."

The professor then shouted in jubilation and energy beyond his age, "By all the wonders of the world, we've made a discovery, lads." He then turned to Sarah and said, "…and lass of course." He then spoke with clear excitement, "Why this could be the greatest scientific discovery of our world."

The professor then started jogging down the hill towards the town shouting, "Come on, we've got to see what peoples have built that place. By Jove, this is amazing."

Nikolai yelled after the professor, "Wait, I'm not sure it's safe!" The professor kept on jogging, ignoring Nikolai. "Professor" he yelled!

The two grad students soon took off running after their professor, in part due to the possible danger that he was ignoring, but also due to the great discovery that lay before the three science majors.

Nikolai then groaned, "Oh hell…" and took off after them.

Soon the four of them arrived on the outskirts of the town. It turned out that the town was a farming community and upon seeing a sign along the side of the road as they crept stealthily through the brush off to the right of the road, this place was named "BunnyBurrow." The rapidly ticking number beneath the sign made them all realize that clearly a lot of people lived here, which surprised the team as the buildings were so small, only about a story or two at the most.

The team stopped and ducked down in some thick brush that was closer into the town. Though they all remained unseen, what they had seen blew their minds out of the water. There were various creatures that were moving about in the town, with the majority of them seeming to belong to a single genus with several species. The majority were a short statured hairy (furry) group of creatures that stood about four feet tall with various fur coloring to them, some being grey with white belly fur, others brown with white belly fur. Regardless, both species had elongated ears that sometimes drooped and sometimes stood at attention. There were however, other various creatures that were bigger, smaller, had more hair, or less hair. There were even some creatures with rough dry looking skin (scales) and others with strange looking mega hairs made out of smaller micro hairs (feathers). The team were stunned beyond their belief at the not only what they were seeing with that, but that all these creatures were bipedal just like them and all spoke a language they could understand, in addition to wearing clothes much like humans did.

Professor Murdock whispered to the team, "All my years of biological study and research, and I could never have guessed that life like this could have existed on Earth…let alone advanced, civilized life like this."

It was indeed true what the professor was saying. These newly discovered species of bipedal organisms wore clothes like humans did, spoke in a language the team could understand, had the capability to construct buildings like humans did, and had cars and other mechanically driven means of transportation.

Sarah whispered to Professor Murdock, "With such a find as this Professor, what do you think we should do? Contact the University?"

Nikolai then whispered, "Hell, at this point we should contact the federal government of Pangea."

Murdock however was more concerned with what to do about this discovery right now. The pure meaning for both the field of biology and what this discovery could mean well beyond his field was madly swirling in his head with the possibilities.

A first contact with an unidentified civilization he thought. As the first humans to bear witness to this, we should be the ones to make contact.

Murdock then looked to his two grad students and said softly, "The four of us have just found the find of a dozen lifetimes. I say we try to make contact with this society."

His two grad students cautiously agreed, but were still nervous about the capacity that these creatures might possess. With the biggest concern being their personal safety.

Nikolai was completely against the idea, but after much persuasion, had finally caved in.

So the four of them emerged from the brush they were hiding in and began to cautiously cross the dirt road in front of them and into the town.

As the four of them moved through the town, trying to find the creature whom might have the highest authority here, the occupants of the town started to notice the four strange new beings that entered their quiet little town.

The team's gazes of both wonder and nervousness, we met with equal gazes of wonder, nervousness and even fear from the occupants of the town. It was clear to both sides that they were unsure of what to do about the other…or what move the other might make.

Children were scurried out of sight by their parents. Some of the creatures ran into their homes and locked their doors.

Some of the creatures were actually taking pictures of the four of them on what appeared to be smart phones.

The four continued as uneasy as ever until they finally found one of the creatures who claimed to be the mayor of the town, one of those shorter grey and white furred creatures with the elongated ears. After that…well, things got both more surreal and tense for both sides.

As the first contact between two worlds that never knew the other existed was made, and the actors on this cosmic stage met, neither side was prepared for the shocking truth that there were living beings unlike them that had shared this planet with them for millennia, or possibly even way longer

* * *

 _"Breaking News just in folks…" spoke a human news caster._

What was understood in the order of the world, both biologically and technologically, was shattered. Picture this. Just as a hammer being struck onto a mirror breaks the perceived world, that world doesn't stay broken

 _"…A civilization living next door to our own, unseen by us animals…" spoke a Chameleon news anchor._

Though the old world you saw may have ended when the mirror was smashed…

 _"…The discovery apparently had been made by a research team from Hamden University" spoke another news anchor._

…When you put up the new reflection of reality, everything around you seems to change just then _._

 _"…These unknown creatures apparently calling themselves human, have extended an offering of cooperation unto Zootopia" spoke a Horse News Anchor._

You now see that you weren't indeed the only one in that room. You weren't the only one living there, or even just there _._

 _"The last stretch of the suspension bridge connecting Zootopia and Pangea was finished today, marked by celebrations as both sides cut ceremonial ribbons on their respective sides of the bridge over the Scar of the World" Said the first human news anchor._

Though you may see the same room, the same furniture and the same flooring, one can't help but notice that you now see another being in the room. This same being was born just like you…

 _"…Today marks the first day of open public tourism of Pangea" said another Snow Leopard news anchor._

...They were raised like you: a family, a home, an education. They were educated just like you…

 _"…The official opening for the Pangean Human embassy in Zootopia was marked with a protest outside…" said another human news anchor._

…And they will die just like you. But…

 _"Word is that the Zootopian City council has now rejected most of the terms of full cooperation with Pangea citing several shocking reports of internal conflicts within the human society. Though both sides will maintain diplomatic relations and trade deals, it is unknown what specific parts of the formal treaty were rejected by the Council" said a Falcon news anchor._

…They are not like you.

 _"Zootopia secretary of the treasury, Sheryl Meadows came out in an interview today saying that the treaty was rejected because the council was arguing about not what was in the treaty, but who had offered them it. She cited that the main cause of the disagreement among the council was that the humans were quote Too violent and dangerous to work with end quote" said a panther news anchor._

They don't look like you and their behavior is foreign and concerning to you. You are left with one question then…

 _"…City Hall issued a statement of the recent protests and demonstrations against the humans living in Zootopia today calling the acts misplaced anger and fear that does not reflect the view of Zootopia as a whole against the human species" said the same panther news anchor._

…Can I move past all of that…and trust them.

Soon however, both sides would soon learn the answer to this question…and it wouldn't be pleasant for one of the groups as this show of the century was only just beginning…

* * *

 _ **An: After such a long time here it is, I would like to thank SR2Turoka for helping co-create this story, always, I welcome constructive criticism.**_


	2. Chapter 2

_Zootopia: Two Worlds_

 _Chapter One: Bonds of Friendship; Dawn of War_

 _Another day in this carnival of souls_  
 _Another nights ends, end as quickly as it goes_  
 _The memories are shadows; ink on the page_  
 _And I can't seem to find my way home_

 _~Far From Home - Five Finger Death Punch_

* * *

Deep within the very dark, depths of the jungle, all is quiet and still…

"Fear, treachery, bloodlust."

A small little rabbit appears, exploring down on the forest floor, curious as a cat, wandering like there is nothing to worry about a little.

"Thousands of years ago, these were the forces that ruled our world. A world where prey were scared of predators."

Unaware to the cute, harmless, little creature as it wonders off somewhere else, little does it know that it is being watched… by a jaguar… who hungers for the small animal…

The bunny then stops, as it then comes across a small watering hole, and takes the time to drink.

"And predators had an uncontrollable biological urge to maim and maul, and…"

The rabbit suddenly stops as it hears the jaguar's growl, realizing that it wasn't alone.

But too late! The bunny turns sadly in time to see the beast suddenly pounce at it and-

* * *

"ROAR!"

"AAHH!"

The young jaguar then used its fake claw gloves on the young bunny girl, slashing them like he was striking the bunny as she screamed.

"Blood, blood, blood!" the young girl cried out dramatically, as she threw out red, long streamers from the secret compartment of her bunny suit, making it look like her blood was spilling from the "attack".

She then went back-first on the ground, then had to crawl a little to a nearby ketchup bottle, then squeezed it with her arm, making like she was losing more, all the while pretending to choke and gag.

"And… death!" she spoke, as she flumped to the ground, tongue sticking out, while squeezing the bottle to let out a bit more ketchup.

She was pretty much milking the death too well.

The sequence, turns out, was basically an acting scene for a play made by the bunny girl.

Her name was Judy Hopps, a young, optimistic rabbit who decided to do a special performance for the Carrots Day Festival's talent show, which is about the history of the animal world with her friends, Jasper Giaguaro and Sharla Shepo, with another friend, Bobby Catmull, a Cougar cub, whose job was being in charge of music and sound effects for the performance.

Though while the play gained everyone's interest, Judy's parents, Stu and Bonnie Hopps (who were recording their daughter's play) were a little uneasy of Judy's hammy death act a bit, until she continued her narration.

"Back then, the world was divided in two – Vicious Predator," she stated, as Jasper pretended to be wild in character with a hiss, "and Meek Prey." She then said, as she acted sweet and innocent.

Then two boxes (which were both labelled as said species) were slowly dropped down on the two respectively, predator for Jasper and prey for Judy.

"But over time," Judy continued, while still inside the box, "we evolved and looked beyond our primitive, savage ways."

As that happened, Sharla, dressed as an angel, appeared on stage, doing small ballet steps, while through out confetti as she did, until Judy and Jasper's lifted up, revealing the two now dressed up in lovely white robes, though the latter felt a little shy and nervous while Judy continued her narration. As Judy continued speaking her lines, a few more young kids entered the stage and walked towards the back of the stage, behind where Sharla had moved to. Like Jasper, some of these kids were a bit nervous about their roles in the play, but for various reasons.

"Now Predator and Prey live in harmony," as she and Jasper hold hands (or paws, in an animal's case), Sharla used a party popper as a sign for to celebrate the peace between the species, while Catmull played the harp for effect.

Soon the three friends made space for each other as well as the other kids for what they were going to do next, "and every young animal has multitudinous opportunities." Judy then said, as she turned to Sharla, noted her it was her cue.

As they were planning out their play, the friends had chats about what they wanted to be in future, so they had the idea of showing them to everyone at the performance.

"Yeah, I don't have to cower in the herd anymore," Sharla said as she then took off her angel outfit, revealing a space suit, in which she then put on the helmet as she stated "instead, I can be an astronaut!" this was added with space sound effects by Catmull for this.

"And I don't have to be a lonely hunter anymore." Jasper then spoke, as he took off his robe to reveal a smart suit he was now wearing while holding a special pen, "Today I can hunt for tax exemptions; I'm gonna be an actuary!"

The next kid to speak was DeLacey, a falcon. "I don't have to be a soaring hunter of the skies any more. I can instead choose to help other people soar through the clouds." He took off his own white robe to show he now was dressed in an airline pilot uniform, complete with all of the detailing on the uniform, only it was hand crafted so it looked still less than official. "I'm going to be an airline pilot."

Another kid spoke up, this time a young Salamander girl named Lana. "I don't have to be an aquatic predator anymore feeding on fish anymore. Instead I can study and learn more about the waters my ancestors lived in. I can be a marine biologist." As she said this, she discarded her robe and she was now seen to be wearing a wet suit and now putting on a diving mask (which she really didn't need given her amphibian biology).

The last kid to speak was a male Komodo dragon kid named Mark who was a bit nervous speaking with clearly a bit of an uncertain tone. "I..I don't have to be…be an intimidating hun…ter anymore. Instead I can be less frightening and be some…one that people will want to go to. I'm going to be a therapist." As he said this, he removed his robe to show that was now wearing a light brown suit and now put on a pair of fake eye glasses and pulled a notepad and pen out of his discarded robe, almost forgetting it after a few seconds.

"And I can make the world a better place; I am gonna be… a police officer!" Judy finally then spoke, as she revealed a police outfit from her robe, while Catmull played awesome cop music for dramatic effect.

While everyone, and even their kids, clapped at the performance, Stu and Bonnie grew stunned and a little nervous about what Judy said she wanted to be.

Then a small bit of laughter came from the audience, revealing it to be Gideon Grey, the school bully fox who was currently watching the show with his weasel partner, Travis.

"Ha, ha! Bunny Cop!" Gideon spoke out, "That is the most stupidest thing I've ever heard."

One of the humans in the audience, a younger Caucasian boy with green eyes and jet black hair was about to say something to Gideon, but was beaten to the punch by Judy.

As she put on her police hat, Judy spoke up, "It may seem impossible to small minds," she then looked to the fox with a stern look as she said "I'm looking at you, Gideon Grey."

This left the bullies a little stunned at that, while a few giggles came from some of the kids in the audience, mostly those who didn't like Gideon bullying them.

"But," Judy then said, as she prepared the final lines, "just two-hundred and eleven miles away stands the great city of Zootopia," as she said that, the jungle scenery lifted up revealing a picture of a city's silhouette with the words "Zootopia!" put up on top of it.

Jasper and Sharla then lifted up a banner, which said, "Anyone can be Anything", which was what Judy then said for the final lines "Where our ancestors first joined together in peace and declared that anyone can be anything!"

At that, the audience applauded to the first act of the play and it's actors as Judy thanked the crowd, "Thank you! Come back in 20 minutes for the second act of our play if you want…the day us animals and humans met."

Though, as the first act ended, Stu and Bonnie looked at each, both with worried faces that had the same question: how are they going to explain the situation to their daughter?

* * *

 _Bunnyborrow_

Judy Hopps and her big family (basically her parents and her 275 brothers and sisters, as well as cousins, uncles, aunts, nephews, nieces and grandparents) live in the sweet town of Bunnyburrow, where it is basically home to many rabbits, bunnies and hares (and still counting due to them breeding and multiplying, most of them part of Judy's big family), though it is also home to other animals, such as sheep, foxes and goats. The town, which was credited for the first part of Zootopia that humans had contact with, had subsequently become a tourist destination as a bronze statue was erected in the center of the town that commemorated that day of first contact. The humans that moved into the town, while few in numbers, set up shops that sold wares from the Commonwealth Federation, such as smartphones that were more advanced than Zootopias, traditional foods and snacks from Pangea, and artwork that was made by hand from the Commonwealth Federation.

Today is the annual Carrots Day Festival, and everyone is here, most of them having fun while others are busy running the stands.

After a successful performance, Judy is having a nice time with her parents, who both decide that it's time to give her a talk about what she wanted to be.

"Judy," Stu went first, "you ever wonder how your mom and me got to be so darn happy?"

"Nope!" replied Judy, who was still in a good mood after her success.

"Well, we gave up our dreams and we settled," Stu explained, before turning to his wife, "right Bon?"

"Oh, yes, that's right Stu." Bonnie said in agreement, "We settled hard."

"See, that's the beauty of complacency, Judy." Stu explained to his daughter, "If you don't try anything new, you'll never fail!"

"I like trying, actually." Judy said, as she continued to skip a bit, merrily.

It was there that Bonnie had to explain what Stu was trying to say, "What your father means, hun, is that is going to be difficult, impossible even to become a police officer."

"Right!" Stu said as he joined in, "There's never been a bunny cop."

"No."

"Bunnies don't do that."

"Never!"

"Never."

Hearing this, Judy stopped a little as it sunk in, they were right; there had never been a bunny cop in the history of Zootopia's Police…

"Oh…" Judy then said, until she brightened up again as she added, "Then I guess I'll have to be the first one because I am gonna make the world a better place!"

As she said that, she did a few acrobatics, jumping from off the haystack to a trolley stand and landed on her feet.

"Or, uh, heck you know," Stu spoke, as the family approached their family stand that was currently running by the other members of the family, giving him a small idea, "you wanna talk about making the world a better place? No better way to do it than become a carrot farmer."

"Yes," Bonnie added, joining her husband when knowing what he meant, "Your dad, me, your two-hundred and seventy-five brothers and sisters, we're changing the world."

"Yeah" Stu nodded.

"One carrot at a time" Bonnie added.

"Amen to that." Stu said as he and Bonnie began to explain a little more, "Carrot farming is a noble profession…"

As they continued, Judy was little uncertain about their decision for her to be a carrot farmer, but didn't want to disappoint them either.

Just then she saw one of her little sisters with her two sheep friends, Sharla and Gareth, going to play for a bit not far from the fair, but what she saw, was Gideon seeing them leave, and noted Travis to come with him as the troublemakers followed them.

Seeing this, Judy had to make sure they didn't cause trouble for her friends and little sister, so, while her parents were still talking, she began to follow them.

"…But it's great to have dreams." Bonnie said, after talking much about carrot farming with Stu.

"Yes," Stu said as he turned to where he thought Judy would still be, "as long as you don't believe in them too much."

It was there they now realized that their daughter had vanished, "Where'd the heck she go?" Stu asked as he and Bonnie looked around the fair.

From behind a tree nearby the fete, Judy looked to see the two bullies ganging up on her sister and her two sheep friends, as they were scared and nervous of what Gideon would do.

"Give me your tickets right now," Gideon demanded, "or I'm gonna kick your meek little sheep butt!"

He then shoved Sharla pretty hard, almost like a harsh push.

"Ow! Cut it out, Gideon!" Sharla cried, gripping hard on the tickets that she, Gareth and Judy's little sister had for the fair games.

Only Gideon snatched them from her as he taunted, "Bahh, bahh! What are you gonna do, cry?"

"Hey!"

This got the group's attention as Judy approached them, and looked to Gideon.

"You heard her, cut it out." Judy said sternly.

"Nice costume, loser!" Gideon scoffed, as Judy's friends and sister got behind Judy a bit, as the fox approached their protective friend saying "What crazy world are you livin' in where you think that a bunny can be a cop?"

By this time, another figure had snuck close enough to be able to hear the conversation. He was drawn by wanting to see why this little rabbit girl had followed the fox that belittled her in the play earlier. This action was both out of curiosity and concern for the strong willed bunny.

Judy stood her ground, as she held out her paw, "Kindly return my friends' tickets."

"Come and get 'em!" Gideon said, as he then pretended to be vicious as he approached her and said, "But watch out, 'cause I'm a fox, and like you said in your dumb little stage play, us predators used to eat prey! And our killer instinct's still in our duh-nuh."

This however, caught Travis' attention as he tried to correct what Gideon said, "Uh- I'm pretty much sure it's pronounced D-N-A."

Only this earned him a light slap on the wrist, "Don't tell me what I know, Travis!" Gideon said to his weasel sidekick.

But even after the threat, Judy still stood there, not afraid of being picked on by the school bully.

"You don't scare me, Gideon!" she said.

But soon, Gideon pushed Judy to the ground, hard, which made Judy's friends worried as he said, "Scared now?"

Having shoved to the ground, Judy got up a little, as she did, her nose twitched a little, with a brave face suddenly grew nervous.

"Look at her nose twitch," Travis pointed out, "she is scared!"

By then the figure, which was a human silhouetted in the light from the sun behind him stepped out from his relatively distant hiding place. He was close enough to hear, but not as close as Judy had been when she saw Gideon picking on the two kids and her little sister.

Gideon then crouched down to her as he looked at her with a smug.

"Cry, little baby bunny, cry!" he said, only to be responded with a kick in the face by Judy!

This shocked Judy's sister, friends and Travis too at what had happened, as Gideon rubbed his nose, and he seemed disbelieved when he saw a little bit of blood, like a few drops on his paw, this, however, made him ticked off.

"Aww, you don't know when to quit, do you?" he said… before revealing his claws on his right paw started to growl at her. Just then a voice spoke out in a stern, defensive tone.

"Hey Gideon" the voice rang out!

Gideon and Travis looked behind them to see who had interrupted Gideon's effort to teach Judy a lesson to not get in his way. Judy, still very much wracked in fear leaned over slightly, still on the ground, to see who had spoken up. The culprit, and Judy's savior, was the same human boy from the play that was about to call out the fox for what he said to Judy earlier during her performance.

"Who are you" spoke the fox in an aggressive snarling tone, well for a kid anyways.

The human glared at the fox and said, "None of your business, fox. Now I'm going to ask you to leave that rabbit and the other kids alone."

Gideon laughed mockingly to his remark and replied, "What do you think you're doing here, human? You gonna play the hero?"

Gideon started walking in a threatening manner with his nails out towards the human, who seemed rather unaffected by the fox's posturing and aggressive tone.

The thing Gideon couldn't see, cause he was caught up in the moment, was that Travis had backed away a bit at seeing this humans response to Gideon, who was the guy that bullied a lot of the kids in the town. Judy was still quite scared, but not at Gideon, but more so now of what this could turn into. She didn't want anyone getting hurt from this. She did to a degree have a small amount of admiration for the human boy's fearlessness towards such a big bully that the fox was.

The human then said, "I'm giving you one chance to walk away now before you get hurt. Leave them alone or you're going to regret it." The humans tone was flat and near emotionless, but a very subtle hint of anger could be felt through the façade that the human was putting up right now.

Gideon then snarled and said, "Fine, I guess I need to teach you a lesson too."

He went to slash the human, who dodged the attack, only to have the human immobilize his arm in a hold with and slam the foxes muzzle right into his knee, the two meeting in a strong impact as he brought his knee upwards to meet Gideon's muzzle.

Gideon screamed in pain as the human then shoved the fox away. Gideon's entire being was emanating rage right now, but both Judy and the human could see the slightest hint of fear that was being masked by what the human had done.

The fox rubbed his nose only to flinch and feel blood dripping onto his paw.

"You broke my nose, you hairless freak!" he cried out in pain.

Rather than backing off, the fox instead let blind anger take him over as he swung at the human again, but this time received a kick straight to the stomach that sent him falling back to the ground.

Travis tried to step in to help his wing man who was in trouble, but then proceeded to be punched at the right side of his head, sending the weasel falling to the ground.

The human, towering over them as the two lay on the ground then said, "Get out of here…NOW!" The human yelled the last word at them, not in anger, but more to scare the two.

The fox then started jogging away, cradling his muzzle with his right paw, Travis following in tow, as he then shouted, "You humans. You're all the same, just violent hairless freaks."

The last words the bully said as he ran away echoed through the humans mind, making him feel as if what he had done was more out of anger towards the two bullies and less about defending the bunny, whom was still on the ground. She was terrified of the display that the human had just presented in front of her.

The human began walking over to Judy, whom the two other kids and Judy's little sister, were trying to help up. Upon seeing him near her, the three kids backed away slowly in a defensive posture, scarred of what the human's intentions were now.

Judy gazed up at the human, her nose twitching wildly in fear as she starred at him wide-eyed. The human stopped in front of her and moved her arm down towards her. She flinched and gasped in fear, thinking she was going to get hit. Instead, nothing happened. She slowly looked back towards the human to see that he was waiting with an arm outstretched to help her up.

She accepted the humans offer and when she was on her feet, she then said "Thank you,"

The human smirked and said, "Don't thank me, those two jerkwards deserved it."

She let out a smirk of her own as she then said, "Yeah, but what about Gideon now? You think he'll come back for revenge on you or me?"

The human then sighed lightly and said, "If he does, he's pretty stupid then. Trust me, he won't hurt anyone on my watch."

Judy smiled at the human's noble intentions and looked at him with some thought. She then said, "So, what's your name?"

The human, who addressed not only the bunny in front of him, but the three other kids who had approached the two of them once again when they knew he wouldn't hurt them, then said to them, "Benjamin. Benjamin Richardson."

Judy then said, "Well Benjamin, I hope you won't let what he said get to you. Not all humans are the same, not from what I've seen."

Benjamin then said, "I'm glad you think that…um, what's your name?"

She then reached out her right paw for an introductory handshake and said, "Judy. Judy Hopps."

This event became a major point in the lives of these two strangers, neither knowing of the others existence before, but neither regretting what had happened either. Though he came to her aid without her asking, she felt from then on that she had found a new friend. She felt she had found someone who she could trust very implicitly, and he felt he found somebody who was able to see beneath the surface of his actions against the two bullies and recognize him as not a violent freak, but a protective guardian…and a friend. Benjamin had always possessed the attitude of that of one who wanted to protect those who were vulnerable and keep people…and animals safe from harm. What would follow for these two individuals would be a long lasting friendship, one that would take them through a decade of great times with one another.

* * *

 _(Time jump 3 years; Judy is now 10 and Benjamin is now 13)_

Judy and Benjamin had just got out of school and both were quite happy that it was now the weekend. Judy was more so happy than Benjamin was as she would be going over to his house today to play with him. They had planned a fun filled day of video games and playing out in his backyard. Ben was a little apprehensive about playing video games with Judy as the games his parents bought for him were a little too violent for her age he felt. Nothing over the top, but he felt not something that his parents and her parents would be happy about the two of them playing together. The two were sitting outside the front of the school as all of their schoolmates walked past them to be picked up by their parents or walk home. Be how small bunnyburrow was, they weren't surprised that the school didn't allow for busing of students. After all, it was only just a small farming town. As the two of them sat on a stone bench next to the exterior wall of the building, in a sort of garden area that the school kept well-trimmed and clean, Judy suddenly had a question about her best friend's family history.

"So you and your family were originally from the Commonwealth Federation?" asked the inquisitive, slightly older rabbit who was Judy?

Ben looked at his rabbit friend who was dressed in a pair of blue jeans and a purple blouse and was a bit unsure of how to tell his younger friend about his family situation. Alas, he stammered over his words a bit as his friend looked back at him with her innocent and curious amethyst eyes.

"Yeah…well, um sort of" he began.

Judy looked at him with her mouth open slightly and curious looks on her face and replied, "What do you mean?"

Ben sighed and began to explain with the same uncertainty that he had before, "Well you know how you met my parents before?"

Judy still game him that same curious look and let out a drawn out cautious, "Yeah…"

He then said, "Well, those aren't my real parents, at least not the parents who gave birth to and raised me. I never told you this before Judy, but I was adopted when I was only 6."

Judy let out a soft "oh" to his response and then she asked, "What happened to your real parents then?"

Ben then said, "Ehhh…they never told me. I know I'm for sure adopted, but they never told me that part. They said they would tell me when I could 'better handle it'."

Judy then said in response, "Oh, alright then." However, she was still not quite satisfied with that answer, being the curious and investigative little bunny has always been. However, as she said this, Ben's dad pulled up to the curb of the parking lot that was in front of the school in his older looking sedan. The two started heading to the car and regardless of the curiosity and apprehension that both were experiencing at this point, they were none the less ready to have a fun filled evening playing with each other.

* * *

 _(Time jump 3 years again; Judy is now 13 and Ben is now 16)_

It was another cool mid spring day in the town, insects buzzing through the woods and rolling grass and the gentle babbling sounds of water cast their beautiful mesmerizing tune through the woods as it flowed through the couple of creeks running through the woods. Today was a day that held significance, though indirectly, to Judy and her family. However, to a grander sense of remembrance, this day held great significance to the world at large.

Today was the 20th anniversary of the meeting of Zootopia and Pangea, the joining of two worlds that never knew of the others existence before that point.

Though this day was not an official holiday for both civilizations, this day was held in both political and historical observance with some treating it like a holiday with celebrations including firework shows, political speeches and a massive flux in tourism of humans to Zootopia, but less so of animals to Pangea. Most however just treated the day as that to remember the event itself and its impact on the world, a formality of sorts that some families held in regard to themselves and others for those they know…or may have known. Though as crazy as the meeting of two cultures had been, that hasn't stopped some animals and some humans from being in a significant relationship or even marriage with one another. Zootopia was very slow to accept this perceived cultural taboo, with some saying that it would corrupt the youth of Zootopia and others saying that humans have no idea how to raise or care for animal children. While different species in Zootopia could have offspring and not have any genetic problems or health problems, the same could not be said for animals that reproduce with humans, those hybrids born of an animal parent and a human parent are much different, some are born humans with the abilities of the animal parent, some are born as animals with the genetics of their human parent, but those hybrids face harsh discrimination and have a 40% chance of being sterile.

In regards to today however, the two best friends Judy and Ben were taking a stroll through the woods outside of the town, basking in the beautiful day. Neither wanted to admit it because the other already knew the truth: if it wasn't for the quest for scientific discovery that humans had and the work of the research team 20 years ago, neither of them would have the joy of being friends together…and they were equally grateful for the forces and decisions that made this all possible. As the bunny girl and the human boy walked through the woods, they were engaged in conversation about everything from school to new movies they've seen, to the interest that both had in music even though their tastes were different. Judy liked pop and rock music while Ben was more into hard rock and metal music with a dash of classical thrown into there as well.

"So Judy, what did you think of that movie we watched yesterday in our Pangean history class?" asked Ben with a slight smile of curiosity and happiness as he walked next to a fallen tree trunk, with Judy walking over the log, arms out to balance herself.

Judy half concentrating on not falling off of the log answered saying, "Well, I have to say that Pangea is quite an interesting place. Your cities are almost as big as the city of Zootopia is." She paused as she hopped off the tree log with a soft gentle grunt, before resuming her answer, "You guys have some really cool stuff too like mag-lev trains or whatever they were called, and all those utility suits you guys use in factories, Power Suits I think they were, they're cool too."

Ben smiled at the bunny's clear interest in the things of his ancestral homeland, and the fact that she was a little confused by all the complex terms in the movie. Clearly, her confusion came from the fact that she begged her parents to have the school put her in a 9th grade class as a 7th grader. She also did it so she could have another class with Ben.

Ben then responded, "Yeah, Pangea's a pretty cool place."

Judy then spoke as she walked a little ahead of him, "It is, I still don't know why you guys fight though."

Ben stopped in his tracks as he believed she touched on the one thing some animals find the most controversial about humans, but to clarify he asked, "What do you mean by 'fight' Judy?"

She stopped and turned around and said, "You know, all the fighting you guys do. The strong police influence throughout Pangea and the, what was the term again…military you guys have. Why would you guys spend so much time and effort to kill one another? It just seems rather stupid to me."

Ben felt an emotional bubble building in him as she was talking about the main controversy about humans…their ability and the very idea that humans would think of settling tensions with the idea of mass killing and bloodshed. Ben thought about all the animals that had called him 'violent like the rest of his kind' and 'murderers ' and even spun insults like 'hey boy what's your body count today'. Ben felt anger build inside of him as the voices swam in his mind like sharks circling the prey that was his psyche right now. Ben clenched his fists tight until his knuckles cracked, but then he felt…pain, sadness. The very possibility that maybe animals were right about his kind, looking back at what was seen in Pangea by the police and military. While it was not a common occurrence, the thought that its happened made him think that all the stereotypes about his people were true…which must make them true about him.

Judy's chipper attitude dropped slowly as she realized that something was wrong with her friend. She didn't know what it was though. She cautiously spoke up, "Ben, you okay? What's wrong?"

Ben strolled up to a tree just to the right of him and rested his head on the trunk as he cried slightly.

"It's nothing Judy." he said simply.

Judy walked over to her friend and said, "I can tell somethings wrong, what is it?"

Ben sighed and said, "All of the things that animals say about me…and my people. That we're violent and selfish for our own gain. I've always told myself it's not true, but I'm beginning to think that it's all true…including about me."

Judy put a paw comfortingly on his back and said, "Ben, it's not true. Just cause some humans do that doesn't mean all humans do that." She rubbed his back gently and said, "You're not like that. You're protective, friendly and smart. Besides, would I honestly want to be friends with a murderer?"

Ben slowly turned his head to look at her as she then saw he was in pain about this issue.

Judy then said in a gentle tender voice, "You are not like them Ben, but one thing I can tell you is that I know that not all animals think that. I don't think that, my parents don't think that and neither do my siblings…and that will never change."

Ben gave a weak smile and said, "Thanks."

Judy opened her arms for a friendly comforting hug, to which Ben accepted with happiness. He knew she would always be there for him, and suddenly the fear about what some animals thought about humans began to drift from his mind.

"You're a good friend Judy" he said"

She smiled and replied, "You too, Ben."

* * *

 _(Time Jump again; Judy's now 14 and Ben is now 17)_

School had just got out for Judy Hopps, the bunny couldn't wait to be out of school to head home for the day. She finished grabbing the books and materials she would need to do her homework at home today from her locker. As she began to walk towards the front doors of her school, a familiar bunny stopped her.

"Hey Judy, hold up a sec" shouted the female bunny to Judy.

The bunny in question was one of Judy's friends, Shannon, a bunny with light brown fur and slightly shorter ears than most bunnies. Shannon and Judy had been good friends going back to more than a year ago. Though they don't have any classes in common, Judy still got to eat with her at lunch, as well as some of her other friends.

Judy stopped walking and turned to Shannon as she ran up to Judy with a warm smile on her muzzle. Judy then said, "Hey Shannon, what's up?"

The two of them began strolling slowly towards the door as Shannon began to talk to her good friend, Judy.

"I was just wondering if we're still good for that sleepover on Friday this week. I've been looking forward to it all week" she said with a chipper hint of enthusiasm in her voice.

Judy nodded her head and said, "Of course we are, Shannon. I've been looking forwards to some girl time, especially since most of my friends are boys. I can't wait for us to polish each other's nails and watch some good movies tonight."

Shannon then nodded happily and said, "Yeah…oh, speaking of boys, how's Benjamin doing. I haven't heard you talk much about him of late."

The two walked around a corner in the hallway of the school getting closer to the exit. Judy then said, "Oh, he's doing fine. He and I hung out a few days ago, and we talked about stuff like school, movies, video games, you know…friend stuff."

"Cool" she said to Judy. She then spoke again, "So I heard from one of our friends that he's started driving, and he has a pretty cool car too."

Judy shrugged her shoulders and said, "Yeah, it's some human car though. I never heard of the model before."

Judy and Shannon just exited the building and started walking down the steps with her backpack on her back, her ears draped over the back of the backpack, when she took notice to an odd looking car that was parked by the curb, and an older human male standing outside of it leaning against the car causally. The human was non-other than her 17 year old best friend Benjamin. As there gazes met Judy felt a smile spread on her muzzle as her ears sprang up, while a smile spread on Ben's face. Ben was now a junior at BunnyBurrow High and as such they were no longer in school with one another. This upset the two of them over the fact, but they still knew they could always see each other after school, as well as the weekends. On top of that, the two inseparable friends nearly hung out every other day regardless.

Shannon said, "Wow, that's a cool car. I wonder how he got it." Shannon and Judy came over to Ben, where upon Ben greeted the two of them.

"Nice to see you ladies" he said with a smile and a nod. The two female bunnies returned the kind gesture as Judy then gave Ben a friendly hug, her head on coming up to his chest, though her ears were awkwardly in his face.

Shannon then chimed in a question, "So Ben, where did you get this car? Also, what car is this?"

Ben then said, "This is a 2009 Dodge Charger, and I got it from a used car dealer in Pangea courtesy of my parents as a birthday gift. They figured that since I got my license last week, I should have my own car to drive."

Judy paused after hearing that and then said, "That's really nice of them."

Shannon said, "I didn't know it was your birthday last week Ben. Judy here didn't tell me that." As she said this, Shannon teased Judy with a ruffle of her head fur.

Judy let out a sigh of slight amusement and annoyance as she then said, "I figured our other friends told you Shannon."

"Yeah, whatever" Shannon said with a mischievous and playful smirk.

Ben then interrupted the tease moment by saying, "Hey I know you two just got out of school, but Judy there's something I need to talk to you about" he said a little hesitantly.

Upon hearing this, her ears dropped slightly as she sensed that there was something important that he really needed to tell her.

"Sure, everything alright Ben" she asked somewhat worried about what he needed to talk about?

Ben smiled slightly and said, "Yeah…hey, why don't we go for a drive first. There's some place I'd like to show you."

"If that's alright with you Shannon, I'm not interrupting anything you two were doing, am I" asked Ben?

Shannon then said, "No, my parents are going to be here any minute to pick me up anyways." She then began to walk towards another curb to wait for her parents, but she looked behind her and said, "I'll see you tomorrow, Judy."

Judy, completely trusting him said, "Alright…Let's go then."

The two of them got in his Dodge Charger as she threw her backpack in his trunk. Ben started the car, the engine roaring to life. Ben drove through the parking lot and out onto one of the few paved roads in town, heading towards where he wanted to take her.

Meanwhile Judy sat idly wondering what was so important to Ben and what was possibly bothering him. She sat with her paws in her lap as the world gently rolled by out the windows of the car. Judy soon got her answer as Ben pulled into a dirt field with patches of grass that were growing about. Judy was quite perplexed as to why Ben had driven them out here, but her memory was jogged when she took notice of an old barn with faded and chipping red paint. Ben pulled a bit towards the barn and stopped the car and switched the ignition off.

Ben then looked at the bunny and breathed deeply putting his arm around the back of her seat as he turned his head to look at her. Judy was quite confused and slightly uncomfortable with what was going on. Ben then said to her, "Does this place look familiar to you Judy?"

Judy just looked around a bit before it fully clicked in her head. "Yeah, this is the old site of the Carrot Days festival, before they moved it across town. I remember being here when I was a little girl."

She then looked at him and asked rather hesitantly, "Why did you bring me here Ben?"

Ben then sighed and looked out into the field outside the front windshield for a few moments before beginning to speak. "You know, when I was only 8 I absolutely loathed the idea of living here in BunnyBurrow. I thought it was just a little nosebleed of farmland populated by carrot farming bunnies." He then paused as she looked out into the field that Ben was gazing at, the blades of grass rustling gently in the wind as some dust and dirt got kicked up by the wind. After a few seconds he resumed his story. "I thought that the very idea of going to a festival celebrating carrots was one of the stupidest things ever, but I just went with the idea figuring why not, right? I thought that nothing could possibly come out of something like that." Judy was still looking out the windshield when he paused for a second and then added, "I was wrong." She turned her head to him as she was starting to get where this might go. "I was wrong in that it wasn't a waste of time. I found an amazing friend that day that's smart, pretty and never treated me like how so many other animals have, like a threat and a killer just because some of my people are like that. If only they could look past the few, and see what the many of us have done to help Zootopia…"

He then looked back at her as he then said, "I never regretted that day Judy. I just wanted to let you know that. I've always loved hanging out with you and going to school with you. I wanted to tell you that will never change, not now nor in the future."

Judy was beside herself as she was amazed at what she was hearing. The sincerity and kindness of his words made her swell with happiness, so much so that she let out a soft "aww" as a smile spread on her muzzle.

Ben then added, "With that in mind however, there's something else I need to tell you Judy."

Judy was now eagerly anticipating his answer, only for it to be something that she wasn't expecting, "Judy, I joined the marines today."

Judy felt her mind do a freeze frame as she was at a loss for words, "wh…what?"

Ben then said, "I joined the Commonwealth Federation Marines, which means I won't be around as much as I have been before."

Judy was now in a state of disbelief over what her friend had told her. Sensing the worry that was spreading through her being, Ben then said, "That's why I wanted to bring you here and to tell you what I just did. I wanted to assure you that no matter where the two of us are we will always be best friends. No matter the shit I go through, I will look forward to seeing my best friend at the end of my tour."

Judy felt her heart break as she realized she would be losing her best friend, not physically, but rather just him not being with her like before.

She then asked an important question to him.

"When do you ship out?" she asked with a hint of fear?

Ben then replied, "After I finish High School, and then after my birthday in 9 months, I'll be 18 and able to be shipped out. So figure 9-10 months, Judy."

"Oh, alright then…" she said plainly. To this Ben could tell that she was taking the news about as well as he thought she would, but yet it looked like there was something she was holding within.

Ben then said, "That's why I wanted to tell you Judy. I wanted us to be able to spend those next 9 months like nothing has changed. I may be leaving, but that doesn't mean I will forget my best friend."

"Though I may walk the path set by thine own will, I will brave the night that shall come unto me. Submit not to the dangers around me, but to the end of the lonesome road, I will fight to greet the light cast by that of which I cherish the most. For by the hope and strength of what that of which is, my best friend will help carry me home" spoke Ben in a sense of verbal grace that Judy had not seen from him before.

She was stunned by his words as they were so elegant. "Where did that come from Ben" she asked in wonder?

"I just made it up" he said to her with a smirk.

"Anyways" he began. "I'll drive you home, Judy."

Ben started the car and the engine roared to life again, as Ben pulled out of the field back onto the dirt road.

 _ **It was in that moment that two souls, put into this world by the forces that will and command the changes of said world, had returned once more to where it began; though this beginning was not that of either significance or scale of the meeting of the two civilizations that these souls belonged to, it never the less held significance to their memories. The two of them, now bonded with a seal of friendship which crossed not that of species only but cultures and history, would be set on course by the fates of the world to achieve great things, of which would come to haunt both worlds that they came from. However, as it was once said, 'with every age is a new beginning, and with every beginning is a new story', little did we know that for Ben's world, that new age would be born from blood and bullets, and the new story would speak that of the symphony of sorrow…of pain, that was war. It was when that happened that I was ever more terrified for my friend. I remember the day as I thought I would never see my friend again…**_

* * *

 _(Time jump 3 years; Judy is 17 and Ben is 20)_

 _ **It was an average day in the middle of June. The sun shining as insects buzzed out through the fields and rural town of BunnyBurrow, with the sound of leaves rustling in the gentle breeze of the trees. Today however was not just a normal type of day. Today was a particularly bitter sweet day for a two particular families in BunnyBurrow, both the Hopps and the Richardsons. Today, Ben was spending one last day with his best friend and her family. However, the time was bitter sweet as the the events of yesterday were fresh in everyone's mind, both Zootopia and Pangea**_ _._

Yesterday, an attack occurred on the border between the two groups that made up Pangea, The Commonwealth Federation and the Humanist Republic. Both the Hopps and the Richardsons were watching the event unfolding and the subsequent aftermath on their T.V. sets.

The Hopps family, or at that point: Judy, Stu, Bonnie, and some of Judy's siblings, were sitting in their living room watching the News to hear the debate between the mayoral candidates of Swinton and Stagerson as the first of the mayoral debates were beginning today. The brood was talking amongst themselves during a commercial break, when suddenly the break abruptly ended with urgent news.

" _This just in with a breaking news ZNN alert" began a horse news anchor for ZNN. "A conflict has erupted in the human dominated continent of Pangea between the border forces of the Commonwealth Federation and the military forces of the Humanist Republic."_

Meanwhile, over at the Richardson's household, Ben and his parents were gathered around their own T.V. set tuned into the Commonwealth Federation's federal news channel 'The Guardian's Star'. The news broadcast they were watching was interrupted by a little bit ago by their own breaking news alert about the same border skirmish.

" _The fine men, women and animals of the Commonwealth Federation's Military were engaged in a conflict against the military of the Humanist Federation today" spoke a female Hispanic news anchor. "Our border security forces were expecting the strong likelihood of an engagement today based off of military intelligence recently acquired from aerial surveillance."_

Back in the Hopps household, the Hopps family was taken aback by the descriptions of horror that they were hearing about the skirmish. The things they were quietly bringing up amongst each other were all centered on why humans would fight with each other. To them it just made no sense, and they were only sickened more by the actions of the human militaries the more they listened.

" _Our news affiliates within the Commonwealth Federation have received word that the fight was short lived and decisive, resulting in a victory for the CF with no loss of life or casualties. However, the Humanist Republic lost approximately 97% of their forces in the engagement, with reports of quote corpses, limbs and gore littering the conflict zone unquote" continued the horse news anchor._

Meanwhile, in the Richardson Household, Ben and his family aren't so much shocked at what they were hearing. They already knew the harsh reality that war has existed before in the past in the Commonwealth Federation. However, it has been coming close to nearly 100 years since the last war happened within Pangea. What Ben and his parents were more upset about was the fact that their ancestral homeland was attacked, unsuccessfully, but still attacked.

However, what made both households filled with anger was what they showed next on the news…a speech coming from within the Humanist Republic, being recorded by a reporter from the CF. The Prime Minister of the Humanist Republic was standing behind a podium, outside of their capitol building. In front of the podium, was their flag…which showed the HR's territory and overlaying that was a human impaling an animal with a sword.

The Prime Minister began to speak, " _Fellow human puritans, I speak for all of us who have not departed from the true meaning of being human. These corrupted animal huggers that are the Commonwealth Federation have long been at an uneasy peace with us. For nearly two decades, we have watched as those that call themselves humans have made themselves allies with the beasts that live in 'Zootopia'. For nearly two decades, we watched as human resources and money went to helping these inferior creatures, instead of that being used to help our own species. Some of our enemy has gone so far as to marry and consummate with the beasts that dwell in Zootopia. The CF has gone too far, abandoning the true destiny of mankind to be the sole masters of this world that is rightfully ours. Though the attack on their border was a setback, the Humanist Republic will persevere. We will not surrender, and we will not watch as mankind strays from our destined path. We will defeat the CF. We will kill those who do not return to the right way of our species future. Once we defeat them, we will attack Zootopia. These beasts will either join us as slaves to our control, or they will perish by the might of the HR." The Prime Minister then thrust his fist in the air and said, "For our species, long live the HR." To this, the crowd copied in action and message._

 _ **Of course, that was yesterday. Today was a day that we were not looking forwards to. When Ben told me that he was being called up to join in the war against the Humanist Republic, I understood that it was his job to protect the CF, in addition to Zootopia. However, I was still so worried for my best friend.**_

It was the following morning in BunnyBurrow and the Hopps household was buzzing with activity. The Hopps were eagerly anticipating Benjamin's arrival for this would be the last time they would see Ben before he shipped out late tonight. Bonnie was trying to straighten up the house as much as she could with the help of some of her older children. Stu was out at the local store to pick up a few things for dinner tonight, specifically any ingredients needed for the dinner that the Hopps farm didn't produce. Judy was getting ready for his arrival in her room. She had just gotten the opportunity to take a shower after one of her older sisters finished and was now putting on her outfit, which was nothing more than a pair of jeans and a pink blouse. Suddenly, she heard a faint knocking coming from the front door of the home, the knocking muffled by her closed bedroom door.

"Well, he's here," she said to no one in particular. "Hopefully, this won't be the last time he'll be here."

Bonnie then called out and said, "Judy, can you get the door?" Soon, that was followed by her yelling, "Tommy, don't put the T.V. remote in your mouth."

Judy laughed at her young brother, who was 3 years old. Her siblings always kept them on her toes, especially when her younger siblings would sneak into her room to play with her clothes and her belongings when she didn't lock her door. One of the problems of 275 brothers and sisters, no privacy.

She went to the front door and opened it. When she did, she was both happy and yet somehow scared at Ben who was on the other side.

Ben had shown up to their house dressed in his military uniform, a digital universal camouflage pattern. She saw his rank of Sargent displayed on his right shoulder with three chevrons. He had his military pack on his back and his helmet being held under his right arm.

Judy thought he looked so brave and so strong in his uniform, but she also realized that he was wearing that cause he would be off to fight in a war, a war in which humans and even CF animal citizens could die in.

She put on her strong face and greeted him happily. "Hey, Ben. I'm so glad that you could stop by today."

The two of them hugged in a tight friendly embrace as Ben then said, "Of course, you thought I wouldn't say goodbye to my best friend and her family first?"

Judy then replied, "No, I'm just glad that we got one last day to hang out before…well, you know."

Soon after the two greeting each other, Bonnie then came to the front door as she was holding a duster in her right paw.

Bonnie then smiled warmly at Ben and said, "Hi Ben, how you doing this morning?"

Ben shrugged his shoulders as he said, "Pretty good, Mrs. Hopps."

Bonnie chuckled and said, "Oh Ben, I've told you this before. Your like family to us. Just call me Bonnie."

Ben then smirked and said, "Alright Bonnie."

Bonnie motioned Ben to come in, which he took up her gesture. As soon as Ben walked in, two of Judy's older sisters ran up to him and greeted him excitedly.

"Well, how ya doing Ben" said one of Judy's sisters, Megan?

Ben knew he'd be sick of the greetings after a while, what with the 277 of the Hopps family members, however he was pretty much used to this when he came over.

"I'm fine Megan. Yourself" he said with a smile.

Megan said, "I'm alright. We're all excited to see you today."

Judy's other sister, Jenn, chimed in and said, "Yeah, I have to say. You look rather dashing in that uniform."

Ben chuckled and blushed at her remark. He then said while rubbing the back of his neck, "Thanks Jenn, but I'm not wearing it for looks."

Unbeknownst to Ben, Judy was behind him and he was glaring at Jenn for his comment. However, she didn't fully understand why it made her so…upset. It was just a playful comment.

After a while, Stu had returned with all the ingredients needed for dinner. Then the family and Ben got settled into their day of fun and food, all as a goodbye tribute to Ben going off to war.

 _(Time Jump, midafternoon)_

Ben and the Hopps had just finished watching a family friendly comedy movie together, and then Stu and Bonnie set off to get lunch ready for everyone.

Ben stepped outside for some fresh air…and to catch a break from two of Judy's and Ben's friends that showed up invited to wish Ben good luck and to hang out for the day. The two friends of theirs started arguing over who was a better comedian/actor in the movie they watched, and Ben wanted to let them sort it out.

Ben walked across the wooden porch and leaned against the rail on the edge, taking in the sight of the small, peaceful part of BunnyBurrow he was looking at, with other bunnies and animals out and about in their daily lives.

Soon, Ben heard the front door open again. He looked behind him and saw Judy standing in the doorway, right paw propped against the door, looking back at him.

She then said, "I take it you wanted a break from Shannon and Mark?"

Ben knew she was referring to their two friends, to which he nodded and replied, "Yeah, and also I needed time to think."

Judy's ears sprung up in curiosity as the 17 year old bunny looked at her 20 year old marine best friend. "Feel like sharing what's on your mind, Ben?"

Ben sighed and said, "Well…kind of."

His gaze turned back towards the town as she was now both concerned and curious. She walked up to him and put her left paw on his left shoulder in a comforting way.

She leaned over the rail slightly to look at him. "Is something wrong" she asked?

Ben then said, "No…it's just I've been thinking about this war."

Judy then softly asked, "What about it?"

Ben replied looking down towards the ground on the other side of the rail and began speaking.

"I know that humans aren't exactly popular with some animals in Zootopia because of the fact that we fight and kill one another in conflict, but I was thinking about if those animals see us humans for the action…or see us humans for the intent."

Judy then said, "I…I don't understand."

Ben looked over at her and said, "Judy, we aren't just fighting this war to protect the men, women and children of the CF. We are also fighting this war to protect Zootopia, to protect you guys."

"I'm surprised that so many animals can't see that" he said.

Judy rubbed his back in a comforting way and said, "Oh Ben, I'm sure they'll understand one day."

"Yeah…" said Ben trailing off.

He then said, "I'm just hoping that those I care about can see the truth."

Judy then said, "Ben, if you're talking about me and my family, we got your back 100 percent."

She then added in, "It's just that…we think that humans fighting like this is…kind of pointless really."

Ben sighed sadly and said, "Me too."

Judy embraced him compassionately from the side with her left arm. He then said, "It's just that, my reason I'm willing to fight and…die in this war is really to make sure you guys are safe. To make sure that all the innocent animals and humans are safe."

Ben then said reluctantly, "Oh well, no sense in dwelling on all that. At least, not now anyways. Today's supposed to be a happy day for all of us, even if it feels bitter sweet."

Judy then said, "I know, but just know Ben that we'll be wishing you the best safety and health while you're gone."

Ben then said simply, "Yeah, I know."

He then pushed off from the railing and turned to her and opened his arms for a hug.

As the two hugged, Ben then said, "You know, I don't know what I did to deserve everything I have right now. Good friends. My Best friend. A loving family and a family valuing me as part of them. I don't really know."

With that the two broke the hug and went back inside, Bonnie yelling that lunch was ready.

 _(Time jump; midnight)_

It was late in the evening, and a great end to a day full of fun, food and good friends. However, for the Hopps and Ben, they knew this was the part of the day that they knew was coming…the goodbye.

Ben was standing by the front door, most of the Hopps brood gathered at the door behind him.

"Well, I guess it's time" said Ben with a hint of sadness in his voice.

Bonnie and Stu came up to him first and hugged him goodbye. Bonnie then said, "You'll be in our thoughts the entire time you're gone, hun." When it was Stu's turn, he looked at him and said, "Stay safe, son. You may not be a Hopps, but you'll always be welcome back here. Just remember us wherever you go." Stu said the last part choking back some tears.

Then came Judy's turn to say goodbye to him.

The two looked each other in the eyes. Judy's eyes a little teary at the thought of the chance she may never see her best friend again.

Judy then said, "Stay safe Ben. I'll be wishing for your safe return."

Ben then said as he put on his helmet, "I know you all will, but Judy, there's something I want to tell you."

Judy then said, "Yeah?"

Ben then sighed and said, "Remember what I said all those years ago, back in the field. As long as my best friend is strong for me, I will find my way home. Can you promise me that you'll keep me in your thoughts so I can get back home safe?"

Judy nodded her head, some more tears trying to form in her eyes.

Ben then looked at them all and said, "I promise I will come home safe. I won't forget you all when I'm gone."

As Ben turned to leave with a sullen delay, Judy then embraced him suddenly in a strong hug. "Goodbye, Ben" she said.

After the hug, she did something he wasn't expecting.

She kissed him on his left cheek. Meanwhile, Stu was holding back the waterworks, but that broke it for him.

"Oh man, here comes the waterworks" he said with a quiver.

He began to cry as Bonnie then said, "Oh, I know Stu. It'll be fine."

Ben opened the door into the black void of night, some of the lights from the buildings in BunnyBurrow shining through the veil. Crickets chirped in the night air.

Ben looked back at them one last time and slowly closed the door with a gentle click.

 _ **With the first step out into the void of the night, I have set my course for my ancestral homeland of the CF. I promised them that I would return.**_

Ben walked down the dirt road that the Hopps house connected to towards the border with the CF, his pack on his back and a strong aura to his walking.

 _ **Though the road will be long and brutal, hard and dangerous, I will be stronger than those around me.**_

Ben was walking up towards a hill outside of BunnyBurrow. As he started to climb over the hill, he felt…hesitant. He stopped and turned to look behind him at the sleepy little farming town, able to make out the Hopps residence in the town. He gazed at the town that he has called home for the better part of his life. Then a voice played in his mind, "Stay Safe Ben, I'll be wishing for your safe return." It was Judy's voice.

Then he heard Stu's voice, "You may not be a Hopps, but you'll always be welcome back here."

Ben then heard Bonnie's voice, "You'll be in our thoughts the entire time you're gone, hun."

 _ **I will be faster than those around me.**_

Ben then turned back forwards as a single tear made it out of his right eye. He knew there was a chance he would never see anyone he knew here again. He then continued walking towards the border.

 _ **My best friend will carry me home, so long as we both believe. The sun shall rise, and through the fire and the horrors of war, the light that shall shine on the blood red fields and towns will also shine down on me and her.**_

Ben made it to the Border where there was already a huge collection of his fellow human and animal soldiers assembled. Just then, several helicopters approached the area and began to land, ready to pick up the waiting soldiers. Ben knew that what he was staring at now might be the last he will ever see of Zootopia.

 _ **We didn't start this war…but we will end it. For the sake of the CF…and my second family…for Judy.**_

Ben then reached into the front pocket of his uniform and pulled out a photo. Ben examined it closely, thinking about the event and who was in it.

It was a picture of him, Judy and her parents at one of the more recent Carrot Day festivals he went to. The group individuals in the photo stared back at him…almost seeming to gaze into his soul right now. He held the picture close to his chest as another tear fell. He breathed in deeply and paused for second before exhaling. He then stuck the picture back in his uniform pocket, which was the one closest to his heart. He then began walking towards the pickup area…ready to aid in yet another bloody chapter in human history. Yet, he knew what he was fighting for as he walked towards his squad that had just showed up and was boarding a Bell V-280 Valor tiltrotor aircraft **.**

 _ **I'll be home one day soon guys. Don't give up hope, for without hope…there is nothing left. Ad Victorium.**_

* * *

 **AN: Sorry for the long wait for this chapter, me and my co-authors ran into some delays, we'll try to not take too long in updating, so before I continue let get some things out of the way here, A lot of the animals heights have been alternated, as seen with Judy being chest height of my OC who is 6'0, and the next 2 chapters will be war chapters, so I may change the rating to M for war and other things.**

 **Anyways, I'll like to thank you guys who have supported me to do this project and my co-authors in helping me. I welcome constructive criticism and ideas. Until next time**


	3. Chapter 3

_Chapter 2: The Hyde of Mankind: The Sufferance of War_

 _Do you take me for a fool?_  
 _How's it feel to be a tool?_  
 _See to me your just a cancer_  
 _Motherfucker war is the answer_

 _~War is the answer- Five Finger Death Punch~_

* * *

 _Man. What is it that drives mankind? Is it the desire to better our civilization through peaceful prosperity, using our talents to cure diseases, build great cities, and develop new means of making our lives easier? Or…is it the darker side that dwells within the heart of mankind. Just as easily as man can create…it also can destroy. The question is…what drives man to kill their own kind in war? Greed? Injustice?_

 _In the end, it mattered not to any of my kind. Just as the sun must rise, it must also set. Just as life is created, life must also be taken away. Therefore, the inevitable reality of truth showed itself to the world…just as there is peace and good in my part of the world, Pangea; there must also be war in Pangea._

 _Though the harsh and cold truth was now revealed to the world, my homeland, The Commonwealth Federation, knew what we were fighting for. It wasn't money, land, or power. We were fighting for freedom. Not from tyranny, but from annihilation. We were dragged into this war to protect our way of life, and that of Zootopia. All my people ever did was a show of good faith to the animals there through aid in times of crisis, protection by the means of our military bases within their continent, and trade to bring prosperity to both of our civilizations. Sure, we also grew close to the Zootopians, with some of my kind even marrying and reproducing with them, not out of curiosity and science, but love. How were we repaid?_

 _With a declaration by the Humanist Republic declaring our imminent doom all because we chose to be nice to our neighbors._

 _In the beginning, this war wasn't expected and yet it happened. To think, it all started with that fateful day on the border between the CF and the HR…at border outpost 19…._

* * *

The atmosphere among the inhabitants of Border outpost 19 was a solemn one, it hung above the CFM personal like a shroud of anxiousness and impatience as troops numbering in the hundreds behind deep trenches and massive steel enforced concrete ramparts all kept a twitching eye and an itchy trigger finger on the dust cloud in the distance. According to military intelligence the expected enemy force was around 3000 HR ground troops armed with an assortment of age-old firearms ranging from the 1850s to 1945 but not including the Colt 1911 pistol, M2 browning machine gun and the RPG7. The report also identified around 30 or so reclaimed armoured vehicles and tanks leading the assault and acting out as bullet sponges up front for the armour less foot soldiers taking up the rear.

To meet this oncoming onslaught of conscripts and age old vehicles was the hunkered down and holed up Commonwealth Federation Marines and their modern advanced weaponry and units at their disposal, ready to cut down any traitors or fanatics that dared to cross the eastern border and came within range of their deadly steel.

The border itself was an enormous concrete and steel wall spanning several miles across panga preventing any chance of attack on the Federation Capital, up front and acting as first line of defence was a Row of trenches and concrete hexagonal bunkers linked together and to the rampart border wall via subterranean passageways to ferry troops and supplies to and fro. To provide "breach insurance", a T-90 tank crew was assigned to the trenches every 100 meters to defend. In the event that the front Perimeter is breached, the personal garrisoned would have exactly 15 seconds to vacate the area before the failsafe would detonate sealing off the passage ways and hopefully killing a extra number of hostiles in the process. The second line was the concrete border itself with around 600 marines manning point-defences, m1 Abrams tanks, M220 TOW Launchers and sitting behind the border ready and waiting to fire was twelve M224 mortar teams, four M777 155mm howitzer emplacements and flying above in a holding pattern; two Mil Mi-24 helicopter gunships all loaded with a wide variety of munitions to boot.

Not one single man or women was relaxed, every sentient being present felt the tension and adrenaline coursing through their system, battle hardened and brutally trained minds going over what actions they should take if the unexpected were to occur, but nonetheless came to an inevitable conclusion:

The angel of death would be present this day.

*Bizzzzzzzzzzz*

"Mangle..."

*Bizzzzzzzzzzz-*

"Dude..."

*bizzzzt* the drone operator looked away from his touchscreen tablet towards his sniper comrade with an electric toothbrush spasming in his mouth. "Mph?"

"Can you fucking not?" The sniper replied with an annoyed tone

"What? You pissed that your lady didn't send you one of these repurposed sex toys?" The trooper known as Mangle said after taking out the brush and waving it in front of his face.

"Y-you, ugh... fuck you dude. Fuck'n just let me concentrate and can you actually do your job over there?" The sniper replied, rolling his eyes at mangle.

"Well yes I can, but is this...ahem, I'm just basically watching an angry mob with tin cans for tanks travel across the eastern plains for, what? 30 minutes? Fuck that." mangle remarked.

"Ya Know If I recall correctly, you were the first one to take the UV training course bragging on and on about how awesome it would be to lase targets for airstrikes, play a vital role in reconnaissance ops and this I quote 'be able to get a front row seat admitst (someone fix that please) the action'." The sniper said with a cocky 'eat shit' expression on his face.

"Now where did that enthusiastic young trainee go or were you just so focused on how you could get that EOD redhead's number that you ignored what the instructor told you what you were getting into?"

With a shake of the head "No no, I don't have any regrets, the job is cool and all but man can it get tedious at times when the raves are pussyfooting around."

Deciding to leave the sniper rifle where it was, the marksman gave a grunt while propping himself up against the wall behind him. With his back to the steel of the lookout, a name tag stitched onto his combat vest could now be seen with the words: Leonard Ferrero.

"Yeah tell me about it, you get all pent up on using that 80 kg (I have no idea how heavy a gun is) piece of hardware to destroy and wreck shit just like all those first person shooters you played back home and the next thing you know you're using that same piece from your childhood to... patiently guard a mining village for 20 straight days full to the brim of leg cramps, heat waves and the self questioning of why you even gave a shit in the first place."

Sniggering at that last comment by Leo, mangle shifted his sitting position to let the blood flow back into his legs "yeah, I guess you're right, um actually uh what do you think of this whole thing? Us, the against the Ravegers? The...what's it called...Human Republic, yeah what do you think of it?"

"Complete and utter bullshit that's what I think. We're one single species fighting each other over a single fucking animal populated city. The whole thing; It's basically two 12 year olds in a sandpit making and bragging about how "my sandcastle is cooler than your sandcastle", then along comes little timid Zootopia and makes something completely new and unique of a sandcastle. Now one of the two starts complimenting and encouraging the new kid's creation while the second calls it weird and freaky and tries to destroy it, the first kid however gets in the way of the second telling him that it's a work of art that should be enjoyed by all and to get lost. then shit breaks loose, the second shoves the first aside, Zootopia begs the attacker not to hurt her/him/it, the vigilante pushes the second away, his friends come and join their buddy, the other's friends do the same and before you know it the sandpit is full of angry kids biting, hitting and yelling at each other all the while Zootopia is cowering in the corner." Leonard explained with a frown on his face.

"Of course with the exception that they get to kill each other?" Mangle added with a index finger pointed upwards.

"Yeah it's just full of it, the ignorance of ...yeah ok I get it that you don't particularly see the Zootopians attractive and a bit frightening to you yes I get that, but the way you are going about telling people that could be a bad idea, it's just wrong...it's just plain wrong, killing someone to get your point across very much ensures that point never gets listened to or taken seriously."

"It would've been better if they just stuck with peaceful protests and anti-Zootopia campaigns?" Mangle questioned.

"100 times better, no riots, no shootings, no insurrection and none of this pointless fucking war." Leonard replied with a gesture towards the ever approaching dust cloud.

Taking a glance at what Leo was gesturing to, mangle started to feel a bit anxious. "Shit I've forgotten about them...um how long until they get here?" The drone operator asked.

"They're...lets see..." The sniper muttered, looking through his scope's rangefinder. "About 4 clicks out, so a few more minutes."

"Oh good yeah...yeah I wouldn't call this war completely pointless you know? Weave out the 'un-fit' in this game of the fittest, ya know what I mean?"

Taken aback by this statement, Leonard held a Face of contempt at what he was hearing from mangle.

"You-just what in the fuck are you implying?" He spoke with a growl that could have easily been cast off as a wolf's.

"Whoa man chill, I'm entitled to my own opinion am I not? I think that the commonwealth needed this war to kill off all the speciesist assholes of humanity."

"It shouldn't matter what they are and what criminal records they filled over the years, they are still human..."

"And that are giving humanity a bad name."

"..."

"They are out there right now man, armed with whatever excuse of a gun and one goal in mind to kill whoever is on that wall trying their fucking hardest to prevent them from annihilating an entire country of peaceful sentient animals from the face of the earth. Now does that even like a human being to you?"

"..."

"You know why I joined up besides the promise of an action packed military career shooting some raves for a living and getting paid while doing it?"

"Because you wanted to protect your family?"

"That and so I'd also be able to protect my vixen Yin Ru, The one I met during a vacation to Zootopia before I shipped out and the one who gave me this toothbrush as a gift for while I'm out here."

All of a sudden their radios blipped into life and began channeling their Commanding officer's voice.

 _ **"All call signs this is Platoon lead! 2 minutes till enemy contact! Check weapons and armor, prepare for engagement! A-6 Recon team, give sitrep on HR forces, copy?"**_

Putting down his toothbrush and Returning back to his touchscreen tablet mangle said "as much as it feels disgusting to pop another human's head off, you've gotta remember that whatever that motherfucker is there for, it can't be good."

After making that statement their radios came to life again and nearly burst from the shouting it was emulating. "RICO! DID YOU COPY MY LAST?!"

"Ah shit shit...fucking Cole..." Mangle muttered whilst fiddling with his head set radio and the drone controls. "yes yes! Copied sir...uhhhh enemy armor units east, range; 800 meters, in zone of home artillery, bearing eight five, line formation and numbering around 30 in total." he answered going over the thermal video

"what on infantry?" Cole ordered with a bit less tension in his voice.

"HR infantry east...ahh range; 860 to 865 meters, in range of home artillery, bearing nine one, estimated size of force is around 3,000 and formation...err...for formation uh none? im looking at this and i can't make heads or tails of it, it looks more like a swarm of pissed bumble bees that just got their hive kicked the shit out of." mangle remarked.

"Copy that, continue providing designation and support for the Hinds over and out" their African-American CO known as Cole transmitted. "alright marines, look alive and watch your spacing!" the CO yelled to the garrisoned troops, running down the rampart.

"i want no gaps, no breaches, no bitching and certainly no one dying and going home in a body-bag!" Cole exclaimed. "YOU GOT THAT?!"

"WE GOT IT SIR!"

In that moment, the dust cloud peaked the hill crest and a vast line of outdated armored tanks and vehicles were now seen thundering down towards the defenders. With a yell, thousands of conscripts came streaming over the hill in wake of the tanks, chanting and screaming as they charged towards the awaiting bunkers, trenches and dug-in T-90 Tanks.

"HERE THEY COME!"

"mortar and howitzer teams C1 to C12 and D1 to 4, wait for call of fire, over."

With that last transmission by Cole gone over to the artillery site, mangle got to work designating targets with his curricular drone.

"D3, this is A6 lookout, adjust fire, over."

"A6, this is D3, adjust fire, over."

"grid ES 925 427, over."

"one A7V tank and one Mark V tank and 20 dismounted infantry in the open, over."

"R, F, DPICM in effect, 5 rounds out."

Taking a few seconds to load and orient the guns, a series of deafening booms were heard behind the border.

*BOOM*

*BOOM*

*BOOM*

"shot, over." the Fire Direction Center transmitted, to which mangle replied: "shot, out".

Mangle then craned his neck from the tablet over the lookout's metal embrasure to see the carnage.

"and now we watch the fireworks!"

With a high pitched whine heard by all, the shells sliced through the midday air like a hot knife through butter, foreshadowing the gruesome fate fast approaching the advancing humans below.

*WEEEEEEEEEEUUUUUUUUUUU-KABOOOOOM*

The shells hit the ground with such a force that the vibrations could be felt by everyone in the compound. The resulting explosion tore through the infantry, turning them into nothing but a red gory paest painting it all over the white hot carcasses of flaming tanks, the ground was seared with soot and so that explosion signaled the start of the fight between the two sides.

"ALL UNITS OPEN FIRE!"

the entire border was alight with gunfire, every trooper picking a target and engaging the enemy, spent brass rained from their weapons clattering on the ground below.

*BRACKA-BRACKA-BRACKA-BRACKA-BRACKA*

*THOOM*

the Mi-24 gunships contributed to the horrific defense, strafing along the border and sending their deadly payload of YakB-12.7 machine gun rounds and UB-32 S-5 rockets onto the infantry below.

*PISHOOW PISHOOW PISHOOW*

"rockets away! The Hind pilot announced.

The ordnance impacted a Mark V tank, burrowed deep into the steel hull of the machine and with a fiery climax, divided it in two halfs with the reminiscent crew more so.

"Splash,one tank!"

"Splash one, copy."

At that moment a circular drone with an underside camera came into view above the swarm of enemies, rushing across the scorched land into the awaiting crosshairs of Leo's Beretta M107 and receiving the merciless touch of the 50 cal round.

"8..." *CHU-BLAM* one conscript was thrown back, flesh and bone in the opposite way.

Releasing the pent up air in his lungs, the sniper realigned the riflescope on another soldier, "9..." *CHU-BLAM* with a hard jolt from the M82 and the 83 mm cartridge it ejected, a hole was punched through the woman's face, brain-matter exploding outwards from her cranium.

"10, i'm out." leo said, detaching the empty box magazine and reaching for another one.

"Dont worry, ill keep on them."

"Yeah uh…" patting over his IOTV, leo cursed his stupidity, "shit looks like i'm out of mags as well"

"Wow, ya know for a guy who wants human peace, you sure don't fuck around in racking up a killstreak." mangle remarked with stifled chuckle.

"Its what im told to do...ok i'll be back, i gotta go grab some more mags." leo spoke before proceeding to open the lookout's hatch.

"Hey leo, while you're down there, could you bring me back a big mac?" pointing to a exitng sniper mangle said "cause while this may look lazy it really is taxing on the brain" he said, prodding a finger to his temple.

"Nope! Fuck you!" leo yelled out while sliding down the ladder.

As he slid down, the sounds of fighting became more audible to him.

* * *

 _ **The conflict on the border at outpost 19 had lasted only an hour, and yet the HR suffered a 97 percent causality rate while the CF didn't lose a single soldier.**_

 _ **The end of that battle sparked an all-out war. The CF military unit my squad was attached to was the 183**_ _ **rd**_ _ **Mechanized Infantry Battalion. The Battalion was made up primarily of heavy hitting and armored soldiers in Power Armor, supported by several units of Tanks and IFV's. In addition, several squads of regular infantry mixed in with the Power Armor soldiers to support each other in assaults on enemy objectives and positions.**_

 _ **Our battalion found itself deployed to a town on the other side of the border…in the HR. The town named Duncan, was critical to capture as it represented our first push into enemy territory, and also put our battalion within staging distance of another nearby town home to several arms manufacturing plants.**_

 _ **The battle seemed simple enough…until both sides dug into a stalemate due partially to bad weather and partially for the CF to stop any HR rebels from advancing across the border from the town. As soon as the lines were dug and fortifications set up, the age old tactics of trench warfare were seen again…**_

The air was heavy with the smell of spent powder and blood. The sounds of machine gun fire, mortars and artillery echoed across the battlefield.

It was the smell of death.

Out in no man's land between the trenches of the CF and the HR, lay the bodies of the dead and the dying Ravagers, the living still carrying enough energy to scream in agony over their mortal wounds they suffered. The machines of war themselves also seemed to carry the shadow of death. In the cratered and bloodied field between the two trench lines, several outdated HR tanks laid in wreckage, smoldering and burnt out.

The forces of the CF had just defeated yet another death charge by the Ravagers into no man's land. The Humanist forces, though woefully underequipped and trained, were dedicated to fight to the last soldier.

My squad and I were currently in the trenches where the CF had dug in to prevent HR pushes back across the border in the Commonwealth Federation. The trench system that the CF had dug was well protected and fortified. The front trench was about 9 feet deep with adequate positions for our soldiers to form up to shoot over the trench without exposing much more than their head and shoulders. About every 100 feet was a machine gun nest with sandbag barriers and M240B's set up gazing out into no man's land.

Far behind our trench was another trench that had fewer MG nests and had more infantry, most of it consisting of J-365 Power Armor equipped soldiers with M27 IAR's and Saiga 12 shotgun back up weapons. These soldiers represented the a critical defense for the trench system, after this line lay the vulnerable ranged emplacements and anti-tank weapons, after that lay the last few miles of HR territory before the border and then the start of CF territory.

Finally behind that trench was another trench that had mortar emplacements and several M1A2 Abrams Tanks and T-90s that were parked in dug out positions to act as both anti-armor emplacements as well as improvised artillery with their advanced communications packages allowing real time drone feeds to be sent to the tank crew. This allowed the Abrams and the 90s to be able to lob its shells over great distances by getting real time coordinates of enemy locations. It still didn't have the firing angle of an artillery piece, but it was sufficient.

The CF trench defensive lines only suffered two causalities in the last attack from an unfortunate Sherman tank main cannon shell that impacted and detonated in the back wall of the front trench.

Even with the sounds of gunfire, explosions and screaming in the air from the wounded HR out in no man's land, Ben found time for the moment to talk with his squad. An important part of his rank of Sargent was that of being a squad leader, and as such he had to keep the moral of his men (and animals) high.

Ben and his squad were in one of the bunkers that lay sheltered underground, connected to the first trench line. Ben was cleaning his heavily modified AK-12 as he was sitting on one of the cots in the bunker. His squad were currently eating a meal in the form of MRE's, with two of his soldiers playing poker with each other.

Ben had just checked the firing pin of the weapon for any damage as he then looked to one of his squad mates, a wolf corporal named Lincoln, who was eating a MRE dinner of whitefish and fried crickets. Ben then said to Lincoln, "So Linc, you get any word back from your fiancée back home? Did she give birth yet?"

Lincoln licked his muzzle of any remains from the MRE and looked at Ben, replying, "No sir, but she should be going into labor any day now."

Ben then started reassembling his AK-12 as he was now finished checking the parts for corrosion and overall wear. Ben, about a third of the way through then said, "How many kits are you expecting Lincoln?"

Lincoln then replied, "Three, sir."

Ben then, in an effort to boost Lincoln's morale then said, "Let's hope this war will be over soon so you can go see her and your kits."

Lincoln then replied, "hell yes, sir."

Ben then got a random thought in his head. Ever since he joined the marines, and started working with Lincoln and the other animal in his squad, Franko, he never really asked them why they were fighting a war, let alone a human war.

Ben then continued reassembling his AK-12, as he spoke to the two animals.

"Lincoln? Franko? I don't think I ever asked this, but why exactly did you two join up with the CF military? I figure it's to protect Zootopia, but what are your actual reasons for it" he asked?

The bunker became almost a little too eerily quiet after Ben spoke those words. His fellow animal squad mates looked at him with surprised expressions, which confused Ben quite a lot.

Ben was beginning to feel as though he may have struck a nerve between the two animals and him. He then began to speak with a bit of hesitation in regards to what he said that may have offended the two animals.

"What's the matter? Did I ask something too personal" he asked?

The humans in his squad stopped what they were doing as they now gazed equally upon the two animals and Ben, wondering where this situation was going to go.

Lincoln looked at Franko, and Franko looked at Lincoln. It was then that they returned their gazes after a few seconds to Ben and Franko said, "Not at all Sargent, it's just that…well, we wouldn't have expected a human to be interested in the reasons for why us animals were fighting in the war."

Lincoln then leaned forwards in his seat and put his paws together and drew them up to his muzzle.

"You know, I figured that all humans in the CFM would care about would just be that us animals give you humans extra numbers. It's just…surprising the type of welcoming that the Commonwealth Federation has shown to serviceanimals in the armed forces" said Lincoln.

Ben stared at Lincoln, very incredulous of what he was hearing.

Before he could speak, Franko then added in, "Ever since we joined, the CF has, for the most part, treated us with open respect and welcome. Especially you sir."

Ben now understood what had caused the silence between the two of them and him, but was now obliged to add in something as well.

"I treat you two like equals not just because we are brothers in arms, but I've spent most of my life around animals. I've come to know how great of friends and comrades they can be. Hell, my best friend back in Zootopia was a rabbit" he said.

There was another moment of silence between the two parties. While it seemed to last a few minutes, it was in reality on about 15 seconds.

Finally, both animals smiled at Ben and this seemed to relax Ben and the two animals. In addition, the human squad members went back to doing what they were doing before, most disappointed in the lack of some show of conflict. However, all of the humans had more respect for their squad leader as he showed himself to not only be a capable leader and warrior, but also considerate to his men (and women) in the squad. Ben was by no means a pushover when it came to protocol being broken by any member of his squad. He was as equal disciplinarian as he was an honorable and friendly authority figure.

Franco then broke the silence and said, "I moved to the Commonwealth Federation when I was fresh out of high school. I wanted to attend the legendary Camden University, get a major in business administration. There, I met the most beautiful human female I have ever seen." Ben leaned forwards eagerly listening while he finished reassembling his AK-12.

Franco then continued while going to one of the cots and lying back on it, staring up at the ceiling as he continued to recount the story.

"We met in a class that we had together, and while I was afraid to talk to her at first, I will never regret taking that first step" continued Franco.

Then, one of the human squad mates, private first class Robert Smith, then chimed in and said, "You were afraid of talking to a girl, Franko. I thought that the Mr. Macho Buck wasn't scared of anything."

Franco then laughed sarcastically and said, "Oh ha ha…fuck you Smith."

Several of the men chuckled as Franko then continued saying, "Long story short, she and I have been dating for a few years and I wanted to join the marines of the CF to protect both my girlfriend and the CF. I mean, Zootopia is still my place of birth, so that is another reason. It's just that I feel a little more connected to life in the Commonwealth Federation than I did to my life in Zootopia."

After about a minute, Lincoln finished his MRE and licked his lips clean of any residue. He then said, "Oh, you know my reason sir. My pregnant fiancée."

He then lay back on his own cot and said, "Plus, protecting Zootopia is pretty up there too in that regard."

Just then, a loud voice boomed over the speakers throughout the defensive line of trenches.

"Attention, Attention! This is Captain Walker. All assault squads are ordered to form up at the front trench line. The enemy has a weaken position and we are going to launch an offensive on their trenches. All squad leaders assemble your men and wait for further orders, that is all" said the voice over the speakers.

Ben then sighed and said, "Finally we're going to take the fight to these ravager fucks."

He then stood up and grabbed his AK-12 and loaded in a mag and pulled back the charging handle of the weapon.

Ben then spoke with his loud, authoritive tone of voice and said, "Alright, we got orders men. Grab your gear and be prepped for the assault. I want to see everyone outside in the trenches in the next three minutes."

He then propped the gun over his shoulder, while still holding it in his right hand and said, "Let's go bleed these fucks dry."

His squad responded with a loud, "Sir, yes sir."

Ben walked out of the trench with most of his squad immediately following him. The air was still as thick as ever with the smell of spent powder and death. The sky was starting to turn a dark grey as storm clouds began to roll in from the north east. The smell of rain was now starting to hit everyone's nose, although the animals stationed here could smell it coming before the humans did.

Ben noticed some of the other squad leaders up towards the middle of the trench line, around a tall human of Anglo decent who was Captain Walker.

Ben came close enough to start hearing what the Captain was saying to the other squad leaders.

"Our knowledge of their vulnerable state comes from high altitude imaging taken via infrared camera from an SR-72 Blackbird. The enemy has exhausted most of their defensive forces in the failed attempts to drive us from this position." The captain then looked behind him out into the field of no man's land and then said, "The brunt of our push will be done by three M1A2 Abrams tanks and mechanized infantry in Power Armor. The job of the regular infantry will be to protect the flanks from any approaching enemy ambush. Once you are at the trenches, I want you and your squads to clear the trench line by line and room by room. Once primary objectives have been achieved, your secondary objective is to find a radio and tune it into the frequency that I will provide upon completion of primary objectives. Use the radio to give the go for Commander Yonobie to send his platoon in from the west and enter the town from the west. Upon successful radio contact, our platoon will enter the town from the east and clear the town street by street and building by building."

The Captain then looked back at Ben and the other squad leaders and said, "Civilian presence in the city should be a minimum, but watch your fire. Confirm target is armed before you engage."

The Captain then put his arms behind his back and then stood still and said, "Any Questions?"

"Sir, no sir!" we replied in a loud voice.

The Captain smirked and said, "Excellent, form up with your squads and brief them on objectives and tell them to be ready in 5 minutes for the operation to commence."

Ben left the Captains presence and returned to his squad. After briefing them on the situation, there was soon a bright flash of lighting in the sky, followed by a thunderous roar of sound that followed the lighting strike. Soon, rain began to pour down on the battlefield.

Soon, a loud pop was heard as a red flare was shot in the air.

"Men…Forward Advance" Ben shouted giving the hand signal as well!

A loud cry echoed the trenches as everyone climbed over the line and was met with the loud droning of Abrams tanks driving around the trenches to push up ahead of the regular infantry. Spaced out in between the tanks were soldiers in Power Armor, carrying heavy firepower, such as portable mini-guns and grenade launchers. The thumping of the mechanical feet of the mechanized infantry echoed dully as the soldiers' feet carried them through ankle deep mud. On the very ends of the formation were two addition Power Armor soldiers called "Barricade Runners".

These soldiers sported a sub machine gun, mostly PP-19's and P90's for their huge magazines. In addition, these troops carried a device attached to their right arm that projected an energy shield almost three times wider than the suit was. The purpose of this was to give mobile shield cover for the regular army soldiers.

The shields and the suits were powered by an energy source called Entitonium. This metal was lighter than aluminum, but was stronger than titanium. In addition, a highly refined version of this metal was capable of producing a massive amount of energy when exposed to a simple electrical charge. Entitonium was used in nearly every high energy output device in the CF military and saw domestic use in power plants to generate safe, clean and long lasting power.

Thunder rumbled overhead as rain hit us like sheets of glass.

Soon, we heard the sound of enemy gunfire as the ravagers started laying into our defensive/offensive line. Bullets clanged harmlessly off of steel and metal hulls.

The line marched onwards as now rockets could be heard firing from old M.K. 1 Bazookas and Panzerschrecks. The explosions clanged harmlessly off of the tanks, while some of our Power Armored soldiers were staggered and one even knocked down from the kinetic impact of the rounds.

Overall, our line held well. Then, I heard the formation leader, Commander Sanchez radio us from within his Abrams tank and said, "All armored units, light 'em up."

The rumbling booming sound of 120mm Abrams tank shells echoed as the tank crews then started shooting their main cannons. The machine guns on the tanks then sounded off with their heavy automatic fire, soon followed by the continuous fire of the Mechanized Infantries' M134 mini-guns and M32 MGL grenade launchers sounding off.

Finally, short controlled bursts then sounded off from the barricade runners sub machine guns.

The regular army units withheld their fire for the moment, conserving ammo until they got to the enemy trenches.

Tracer rounds flew around our formation and into the dark grey, raining night of the battlefield.

As we walked closer to the enemy lines, we could hear screams of pain and orders being shouted to "hold the line" and "focus fire on the enemy tanks".

The regular marine infantry kept their heads on a swivel for enemy ambushes attacking the formations flanks. So far, it was clear.

Ben was able to notice through the shields of the barricade runners that the CF advance was approaching the enemy trenches. The tanks would knock out the machine gun nests and other defenses of the HR trench lines while the mechanized soldiers and regular marines would clear the trenches of enemy combatants.

Finally, the mechanized infantry squad leader then said over the comms, "All infantry, contact with enemy defense line in T-20 seconds. Prepare for standard sweep and clear operations on my mark."

The enemy could be heard screaming as they saw how close the CF had gotten to their trenches. The CF troops could hear the HR forces screaming to pull back to defensive formations and hold the trench lines.

The mechanized squad leader then shouted, "three…two…one…MARK!"

The tanks stopped about 10 feet from the line and began a coordinated attack to clear the enemy MG nests and pillboxes. Their main cannons sounded thunderously as explosions began to pepper the enemy defenses one by one, with breaks for the Abrams auto-loader to replace the spent shells.

The barricade runners dropped their shields and hopped down with their sub machine guns in hand.

The remaining mechanized soldiers with the M134 mini-guns then stopped at the edge of the trench and mowed down the HR remaining in their immediate site into a pile of human meat and blood.

This cleared the way for the regular army to hop down and begin the sweep and clear with the help of barricade runners. The mechanized infantry up above the trenches advanced in a steady jogging speed over to the next trench line to begin to clear that of HR troops.

Ben and his squad were one of the first infantry units to hop down. As Ben contacted the ground, an explosion peppered a pillbox in the next trench line, fired from an Abrams tank. The sound of a loud scream could be heard as concrete and an HR soldier went flying out of the exploding pillbox.

Ben readied his weapon and shouldered it, walking cautiously. He then spoke into his throat mic, "Echo's 2, 5 and 6, take the bunker up ahead. Standard frag and clear."

Franko (Echo 2), Victor (Echo 5) and Sarah (Echo 6) took position by the front entry of on of the bunkers built into the HR trench line.

Victor pulled a M67 Frag grenade off of the grenade belt he wore around his hip. Being the squad grenadier, he carried at least 4 frag grenades and 2 smoke grenades, in addition to the M203 grenade launcher equipped on the underside of his M4A1 and the ammo for that as well. Victor pulled the pin out of the grenade and started the countdown timer for the fuse inside the explosive. Victor then threw it into the bunker, the dull thudding of the grenade could be heard as it bounced a little off of the dirt floor inside.

Ben and the rest of the squad were about to walk past the entrance, when they heard the explosion of the frag grenade followed by dirt and wood flying out of the doorway.

Franko then shouted, "Clearing, go, go, go!"

The sound of automatic weapon fire could be heard inside the now shredded interior of the bunker as the three soldiers took out two HR soldiers taking cover way in the back of the bunker, out of the grenades reach.

Inside the bunker, several bodies of HR soldiers laid on the ground, shredded by the shrapnel from the frag grenade. Several soldiers were missing parts of limbs while on soldier, apparently right next to the grenade when it went off, had his stomach blown apart with his guts spread across the floor near him and part of his face was reduced to a pile of unrecognizable meat.

Meanwhile, one HR soldier that was left in the bunker was hyperventilating, terrified for his life. The sounds of the CF soldiers drew closer as the HR soldier was hiding behind a stack of supply crates.

The HR soldier walked out of cover with his hands in the air, MP44 in his right hand, gripping it by the body of the gun.

"Don't shoot, I surrender" he said, pleadingly to the three Echo squad members.

After stepping out of cover the CF soldiers had initially raised their weapons ready to shoot. However, Franko lowered his G36C and said, "Down on the ground and hands behind your head."

"Okay" said the HR soldier.

Just as he was about to get down, a burst of assault weapon fire stitched the HR soldier across the chest and the soldier fell down in shock and screamed.

Soon after, a last gunshot resonated in the bunker as the HR soldier was shot in the head and died immediately.

Franko was surprised by what had happened and quickly spun around, looking for the source of the gunfire. He then saw Sarah with her M27 IAR aimed right where the dead soldier was and the faintest hint of smoke dissipating from the barrel of the gun.

Franko then yelled out, "What the fucking hell, you fuck! He surrendered!"

Sarah then glared at him, clearly pissed at his tone and choice of words.

"Watch your mouth, Private. I outrank you," she said. She then went on to say, "You know the CF war policy on the HR…take no prisoners. These ravagers wouldn't have shown any of us mercy had it been the other way around, therefore, we won't to them."

Franko then said, "He was a non-combatant. What you just did was murder."

Victor then said, "It's not murder if your superiors pardon you of it."

Franko glared angry daggers at the two human soldiers over what he witnessed, but the fear of being reprimanded for disobeying orders kept him in line, and further kept his mouth shut.

* * *

Meanwhile, out in the trenches, the other remaining 6 members of Echo squad had now separated from the three other squads of regular infantry marines. The six of them swept the trench inch by inch. Suddenly, an HR soldier popped out of cover and fired at the six soldiers. Upon hearing gunfire, the six soldiers ducked and Ben popped off a burst of 8 rounds from the AK-12 into the ravager. The enemy combatant staggered and fell; convulsions making him fire his M1 Garand twice into the air before hitting the dirt.

Ben looked behind him to see if everyone was alright, and was scared to see Corporal Sabarov on the ground.

Ben then jogged over to the fallen squad mate and then shouted "Sabarov, sound off. You hit?"

Sabarov was responsive and just seemed dazed at the moment before saying, "I'm alright sir. Damn ravager shot me twice with his fucking gun. My body armor stopped it, but it staggered me and I slipped in the mud."

Lincoln held out his paw to help up the fallen soldier and then said, "You sure you ain't hurt, that mud can be really dangerous." With his other paw he then asked, "How many fingers am I holding up?"

Sabarov then glared at him and flipped him the bird. Lincoln laughed and said, "He's fine."

He then helped him up.

Ben then said, "Hey, if you're fucking done Lincoln, we got a job to do. So pull your thumb out your ass and let's go."

Lincoln inwardly smirked and said, "Yes sir, sorry sir."

The six of them then continued down the trench, and almost 10 minutes later and a few more dead HR by their hands, the trench was cleared. The mechanized infantry had radioed in that it took care of the second trench line and the third was cleared by two of the other regular marine squads and a barricade runner.

With the line cleared, Ben radioed back to their CO and reported the good news.

"Excellent work, Sargent. I'm now sending you the frequency for Commander Yonobie's comms network. Frequency is: 87.6 Hz. After successful communications, rally with the remaining members of the assault force and begin your approach to the town" said the Captain back at their trench.

"Yes, sir" replied Ben.

Ben then changed the frequency on his throat mic to 87.6 and began to communicate with the Commander.

"Attention Commander Yonobie, this is Echo actual. Confirmation from CO that Operation Burning Sword is a go, I repeat, Burning Sword is a go. We are cleared to enter the town. How copy, over" I said to the Commander.

"Solid copy Sargent, my forces will begin their push into the town. Let the Captain know I have a recon team in the town, surveying the enemy position. Let him know for his men to watch their fire" replied the Commander.

"Acknowledged, sir. Over and out" I replied.

Ben changed the frequency back to that for the Captain's comm network.

After radioing the Captain of the Commander's situation, The Captain gave the go for his platoon to enter the town as well.

By now, the rain was still coming down in sheets. Ben and his men were soaked to the bone by now, but they still had a job to do.

 _ **With the fall of the enemy defensive line outside of the town of Duncan, the way was now cleared for our forces to enter the enemy held town and seize control of it. Though the CF suffered very little casualties so far, it could not be said for the seemingly thousands of Humanist forces that lay dead out in no man's land and within the trench lines. The humidity of the rain and the smell of blood and gore mixed to make one of the most god awful smells I have ever smelled.**_

 _ **Though the operation was halfway over, the bloodshed would only further grow in the invasion of the town. The horrors of war and the dark side of the human spirit were felt on the front lines by both sides.**_

* * *

 _ **Meanwhile, back in the continent of Zootopia, things had changed since the war had begun. The city of Zootopia itself was now in a state of quiet fear. The animals there knew that if the humans that most had come to call their allies lost this war, it would be the end for all animals. The streets of the city seemed emptier over the last few weeks since the war began. Both the animals and the humans there could tell the city was missing its vibrant atmosphere that made the city so…entrancing to live in. Posters were put up across the city, encouraging residents to report any suspicious human activity that they saw. In addition, the city council had passed a law that the newly elected mayor Swinton signed off on. The new law prohibited humans, at least temporarily, from being able to serve on the ZPD, work as private security agents or officers and prevented them from being private detectives. A few humans of the city were outraged to face a law encouraging discrimination against their kind. While a large majority of the humans understood the reasons of it, which was to appease the state of fear by ensuring that any position that could be abused internally by Humanist spies or agents couldn't be used against the city. Most humans still didn't like the idea of being prohibited from certain jobs of respect and responsibility.**_

 _ **Meanwhile, out in the rural area of the continent in the town of BunnyBurrow, things didn't really change that much. The only really distinct change was an increase in agricultural foods being shipped to the Commonwealth Federation to help feed the armies of the CF fighting the war. While it brought more money to the town of BunnyBurrow, it hadn't really changed too much. Still, that could not be said for everyone. Two particular families within the town, the Hopps and the Richardsons, had their own reasons to feel the impacts of war. It was especially true for one bunny in the Hopps household…Judy.**_

It was a warm summer's day in August. The town of BunnyBurrow was buzzing with activity during the summer: Tourists coming to see the monument dedicated to the first contact of Zootopia and Pangea, farmers cultivating and spraying their fields with fertilizers and insecticides. Busy towns people were also moving about on their daily routines.

In one particular household in the town, the Hopps residence, a large portion of the family was at work out in the fields to take care of the next harvest of carrots that were being grown. In the house though only three bunnies inside on the beautiful day: Judy, Bonnie and one of Judy's siblings, June.

Judy was lying on the bed in her room on her side, staring out into the room. Though she was on summer vacation, it felt not much like it to her. Sure, she still spent time with her family and tried to enjoy her days, but something felt like it was missing to her.

Her family had noticed that about three weeks ago, Judy's personality had changed. She became more reserved, less social sometimes. She would also go through periodic episodes of mild depression. Judy knew what the main cause of this was, and the thought of the reason made her grab one of her stuffed toys, a felt plush carrot, and squeeze it tightly to her.

Ben…

Judy had been checking the news every night, particularly the news from Pangea, to follow up on the events of the war. It was both equal parts horror for her as it was curious. The war footage that was captured by the state press that followed the CF military shocked and horrified her. Almost all the footage involved clips of firefights, air raids and most disturbing of all…the aftermath of it all.

Every night, there was usually at least one clip that showed streets of cities and towns filled with burning vehicles, ruined buildings and bodies littering the streets.

In one particularly disturbing clip, Judy saw HR rebels down on their knees and hands behind their heads. She thought nothing of it…until a CF officer went behind each one and executed them with a bullet to the back of the head. Judy gasped as the first rebel fell and she was crying silently in horror when she saw the last rebel pleading for his life, saying he had a wife and kids. His plea was met only with a bullet to the brain. She was left speechless after she turned the T.V. off. She sat there, mentally fractured.

How could humans be so…cruel to their own kind she thought?

The thing that scared her the most was that this was the same human military that Ben had joined under the branch of their Marines. She had to wonder to herself…was Ben committing atrocities like this? The bigger question was that if Ben ever returned from the war, would he change? Would he be the same protective and caring soul he was before, or would she wait for his return to only be greeted by a monster hiding behind a façade?

As Judy was lying in bed the following day after seeing that clip, she came to a conclusion.

Humans may be so different than animals, and not just physically. Humans may even be confusing as all hell to her.

The one thing she didn't think of humans though was that they were monsters. She saw that now at least. Her best friend and countless other animals and humans were risking their lives fighting for freedom from total destruction right now. How could a monster be born from such a noble cause as the right to live?

She was still begging to be able to see Ben again when this war was over.

Though she and he kept in periodic contact in his absence from home, Judy was starting to have some other thoughts enter her mind. These thoughts tormented her, not with fear or anger, but out of the simple fact she had no idea on what they meant.

She had no idea what was driving it either. Lately, she was missing Ben even more than usual. It wasn't just the absence of a best friend. There was something else to it too.

It started when she received a picture message and a following email on her phone from Ben's military created and monitored email account. Judy was reading a book when a notification popped up on her phone, and after she opened said email, there was a message written to her.

 _Hey Judy, it's your old pal Ben. I figured I'd touch base with you and let you know how I'm doing._

 _Let me start by saying that, yes, I am still alive and healthy. You don't need to go worrying your pretty head about me Judy. So where to start? Well I guess I can begin by saying that my squad got a new recruit today, a wolf by the name of Franco. Guy seems reliable and seemed calm enough out on the training course earlier this week. I just hope that he realizes that out here, there are no heros. If you play the hero, you're going to be liable to wind up dead._

 _Anyways, enough about me. I wanted to more send this to find out how my best friend's been doing. Your family okay since my absence? You? Also, have you been keeping up with the news lately on the war?_

 _Also, there's another thing I want to tell you if you have been keeping up with the war. I've been hearing things from within our battalion that suggests that support for the war in Zootopia has been very…divided. Most animals know what we are fighting for, but some are so narrow minded that they can't see anything beyond their own little world. I can't say the same for every human in the military or even every animal, but I can say this about one person…_

 _I'm not fighting this war for fame, or money, or anything personal like that. I'm fighting this war to help protect those that these ravager motherfuckers would see killed. I'm fighting to ensure a better world for not just humans, but all animals as well._

 _Including you…_

 _I would gladly die if I knew it would keep you and your family safe._

 _At any rate, once this war's over Judy, I'll be back home soon. I look forward to seeing my best friend again._

 _Hey maybe after our currently planned operation is finished, and I return to base, maybe we can do a video chat at some point? If you want that is?_

 _Oh, speaking of base, I just remembered that I wanted to show you what the last several months of exercises and training has done for me. This was taken back at base about a week ago. I even put my talents of this to the test and tried to wrestle one of the animal soldiers on the base, some grizzly bear. I lost…but I still think this is impressive._

 _I'll see you soon Judy. Remember the promise you made me. If my best friend believes and has hope, that hope will one day carry me home._

 _Sargent Benjamin Richardson_

Beneath the text was an attached picture file. I tapped it with one of my digits and a picture opened up I was not expecting.

In the picture was Ben, leaning against a wall in what looked like a gym. It must be the gym on the military base. The thing that caught me off guard was Ben himself. He was wearing his army uniform pants and boots, but had no shirt on. I never noticed it before cause I never saw him with his shirt off, but he was buff. Like really buff. He had a well-defined pectoral region and six pack abs. His arms were a little less defined, but he still had a tremendous definition to his arms as well.

He was smiling at the camera, which made me wonder who took the picture.

My mind was focused on what I was seeing. I didn't see the Ben I had thought I knew. He was there, but this new side of him I was seeing…confused me. I started to really miss him, like I wanted him here right now.

It wasn't even because he was buff, I mean that helped of course. I'm not shallow though.

I saw someone who not only said they would protect me and my family, but also had the ability to back it up. I felt…safe and happy seeing him, even if it was only a picture.

I just wanted to have Ben here though, not this picture, so I could hug him and thank him for everything. Put his mind at ease about the war and its stresses. Strangely though…I wanted to…kiss him.

I didn't know what I was thinking, this was my best friend and he isn't even the same species as me. I felt my body become hot as I thought more and more about kissing him.

I mean, is this even normal for somebody to do. I wanted to kiss another creature that isn't even part of my own species.

The thing however that drove my kind from this was thought of mine was the realization that Ben was fighting to protect all of Zootopia, including me and my family. I could only imagine the pressure riding on him and the other soldiers, it bothered me that my best friend was putting his life on the line.

In turn, I just felt so…powerless knowing that I wasn't with Ben helping to carry him through this.

I grabbed my stuffed carrot toy and cuddled tightly with it, imagining it was Ben here to comfort me as a friend, as he always had been here for me before. I imagined it was him telling me he'd be alright and that he would never let himself…disappear and leave his best friend. I sniffled as I slowly stopped crying, yet still was cuddling with the stuffed carrot.

I then thought back to what Ben had said. I needed to be strong for him, to help carry him home.

 _That meant that I should show support for him and video call him_ I thought.

I then grabbed my phone and told him I'd like to video chat with him when he was back at base safe. I then told him to stay safe.

After I sent the message through his email, I just hoped he'd respond soon.

I then rolled onto my back on the bed and let out a huge sigh.

I still couldn't reconcile with myself whether I was messed up in the head for even thinking about kissing Ben. He's a human. I'm a bunny.

I then heard my mom calling to me, telling me that she needed my help with dinner.

I groaned lightly as I sat up and hopped off the bed.

As I walked out of my room, I promised myself that I would carry my promise I made to Ben…even if only for him to get home safely.

* * *

 _ **The smell of death hung in the air over the town of Duncan as the CF 183**_ _ **rd**_ _ **mechanized battalion entered the town from two separate angles, hoping to squeeze and flush the HR rebels out from within Duncan.**_

 _ **My squad had done an incredible job on the outskirts of the town during the effort to push into the enemy's trench line. While I was more than pleased to see such a performance, I knew deep in my heart that this was only just the beginning of a long and brutal conflict in human history. What drove my squad to have such a decisive success in the assault on the enemy trenches was a combination of training and luck, but I knew one day that luck would wear out. When the day would come, would my squad and I be ready for the full fury of cruel mistress that was death, as well as her companions war and ideology? Only time would tell, but in that time, our squad entered the town along with several other squads of regular marines, backed up by mechanized soldiers and friendly IFV's. That was when our first test would begin…the Battle of Duncan.**_

The time was late afternoon, and the rain would not relent on the town of Duncan. The sky poured down on both sides of the soon to be battlefield that was Duncan. Dirt had become mud and the mud did its best to bog down the mechanized infantry.

At the opposite side of a slope that stood just outside of the town itself, there were 10 squads of regular infantry all lying prone or crouched in the sparse grass that lay around them. Mixed in the squads were mechanized infantry teams that would be operating in pairs with the intent of these mechanized units to distract enemy fire off of the more vulnerable regular marines, as well as to provide agile heavy support fire. The mechanized infantry were crouched down as the rain pitter-pattered dully on the armored material of their Power Armor suits.

At the front of the slope, there was one solider crouched down, peaking over the crest of the hill. The soldier was scanning the visual areas that he could see within the town with a pair of high powered binoculars. The intent of this was more than to just look for the enemy. The scout was also searching for any possible sign of the recon team that Commander Yonobie had sent into the town. Further communication with the Commander told the platoon that Ben was with that the recon team was a 4 man team that consisted of two soldiers with suppressed MP5's and the other two were part of an unusual sniper team. One of the sniper team members had an XM109 sniper rifle and the other, perhaps more unusual soldier, was a heavy body armor machine gunner with an M60E4 machine gun. Ben had assumed that the machine gunner was there for the purpose of enhanced survivability of the team through the presence of a high ammo capacity machine gun that could both suppress and neutralize enemy combatants.

The scout could not see any immediate sign of enemy activity, or any sign of activity from the recon team. The only noise emanating from the town was that of doors creaking in the wind and rain falling onto the streets.

The scout turned towards the CF forces and began used his throat mic and said, "I have no eyes on hostile contacts."

The infantry unit leader was Lieutenant Chen, an officer within the mechanized infantry division of our Battalion.

Chen then spoke through his helmet's comm system and said, "Roger Eagle Eye. All call signs, this is Iron actual, we are clear for the operation. Let's get moving. Keep your heads on a swivel, gun loaded and minds level. Enemy presence in town is unknown."

Both the mechanized infantry and the regular marines started into a slow sprint over the slope and began to move into the town.

As the marines and mechanized infantry ran up and over the bend of the hill, there was soon there after a voice shouting out that sounded distant.

"Now, fire!" yelled a voice.

Suddenly, from a couple of buildings within the town that overlooked the embankment, Browning M1917 .30 cals began to fire down onto the path that the CF was taking.

Once the bullets started to fly, the CF infantry took cover in the thick brush off of the path. Some soldiers could not find any visual cover and were forced to hit the dirt behind rocks and fallen trees. One of the marine squad leaders then said, "Enemy ambush. Defensive positions and open fire. I repeat, weapons free."

The marine squads then opened fire on the enemy positions in the buildings, bullets now flying from both sides.

The mechanized infantry units then readied their mini-guns as Chen then said, "All Iron call signs, suppress those MG emplacements. Take em out and give the marines cover."

The mini-guns the mechanized soldiers had started to spool up as bullets strafed across the armored hulls of the Power Armor suits. Then, a torrential hail of hot lead began to fire off from the mini-guns, a continuous sound of gunfire ringing out.

The hail of bullets from the mini-guns tore up the façades of the multi-story shops that the MG fire was coming from. Glass shattered and brick crumbled as the bullets ate through the front of the buildings.

Echo 6 (Sarah) looked over at Ben as they were still sheltered in the tall brush off the path. Marines from other squads pushed up further now that the enemy fire from the MG's had been slowed, firing their weapons as they did so. Sarah had bullets fly over her head in a whistling sound as they hit the dirt with solid smacks around her. She then looked at Ben and said, "Orders sir?"

Ben was peeking out of cover and firing his AK-12 in short bursts at the advancing enemy. He ducked in cover as bullets flew past him. Ben then shouted, "All Echo call signs, we need to clear any buildings of possible enemy combatants. Advance towards the town and find cover."

More bullets fly past their positions as Ben peeked out of cover to see the mechanized soldiers advancing slowly, cutting down all the HR rebels that were now fleeing out of the crumbling building that the MG emplacements were in. Screams echoed in the air as bullets ravaged the HR numbers.

Ben and his squad took the opportunity to get into town now that the Mg emplacements overlooking the embankment were knocked out.

Ben then shouted into his throat mic, "Echo, let's get into that town. Follow my lead and keep your guns ready."

Ben took off from the brush he was in only to have bullets fly dangerously close to him, so much that he could feel the heat off of the freshly fired projectiles.

Ben took a mad sprint with his squad in tow as he reached an old heavy iron gate. Ben stopped briefly and kicked the gate, which came off of its hinges from the rust and wear over many presumable years.

Ben began another sprint into the town, more bullets flying down the street at Echo squad.

Taking cover next to a building, Ben then saw one of his squad mates get hit in the chest, but the superior body armor that was Dragon Scale body armor absorbed the lethal impact and left the soldier, Echo 7, with a feeling of being slugged by a bat.

Ben's squad took cover next to where their squad leader was. Ben peaked around a corner and took notice of several MG 08 and Vickers machine guns firing out of the bottom floor window of a coffee shop. The angle of the store front allowed the rebels to see Echo squad, but the current target of the MG crews was another approaching squad that was pinned further back from Echo by the MGs. Ben knew that the only way to take the suppression off of that squad was to take out the nests. Ben looked back to his squad and said, "Victor, I got eyes on rebel machine guns, bottom floor of the coffee shop. You think you can put a 40 mil frag in there?"

Victor slid open the launcher tube with a *schoonk* sound coming from the mechanism. He pulled out a 40mm frag round fit for a grenade launcher and said, "Consider it done sir."

Victor slid the tube back over the now inserted round with a *chook* sound. Victor then stepped out of cover and aimed his launcher quickly at the store front and with one tiny adjustment, pulled the launching mechanism. The launcher sounded with a dull *thump* sound as the round flew towards its intended target.

The store front almost immediately afterwards exploded in a hail of splintering wood and shrapnel.

Soon a rebel soldier stumbled out of the store front crying in agony as his right arm was almost nearly shredded off of its shoulder. It only dangled by a few pieces of flesh. In addition, the soldiers right eye and part of the right of his head was shredded by the explosion.

The rebel screamed in agony, that is until Ben pulled out his FN57 and fired a shot that went into the rebels already almost severed arm. The rebel recoiled from the impact and screamed at the top of his lungs as another bullet was fired, this one a headshot that silenced the suffering rebel with a splatter of that sprayed on the wall behind the now collapsed rebel soldier.

Ben cursed for missing his first shot as it was pointlessly wasted, he was thankful however that his second shot was all it took to kill the mortally wounded rebel.

Ben holstered his pistol and motioned his squad to push up towards the 3 way intersection of the street they were on.

As the squad moved out of cover, unbeknownst to them, there was an enemy looking through a medium range magnification scope…a sniper.

The sniper smirked wickedly and said, "Dirty animal fucker."

He had set his sights on Sarah and pulled the trigger.

Sarah at that moment was turning to speak to Victor when a gunshot rang out and a bullet drilled its way into her arm.

She cried out in pain as she slipped and fell from a combination of the recoil of being shot and the wet asphalt street.

Ben then shouted, "Damn it, fucking sniper!"

Ben then yelled, "Echo 5, pop a smoke. Echo 3, help me move Echo 6."

Victor pulled out one of the smoke grenades pulled the pin and dropped it near the squad. The grenade popped with a whisping sound as smoke began to flood the area around both the squad and the grenade.

With visual cover, Ben and Echo 3 grabbed Echo 6 by the back of her uniform and pulled her towards a nearby car, another bullet cracking through the smoke screen.

Sarah was grunting from being dragged and the pain of being shot. Once Sarah and Echo were safely behind the car, Ben called for Echo 8, Jeanette, their squad's medic.

"Echo 8, take a look at her arm. How bad is it" Ben asked?

The smoke was still holding, blocking the snipers view. However, with not knowing where exactly the sniper was, it was possible that they would still be exposed after the smoke dissipated.

Jeanette looked at the bullet wound after ripping open Sarah's right sleeve and examined it, trying to manipulate the arm. Sarah screamed in response and Jeanette looked up at Ben and said, "She suffered a break in her arm from the bullet, she's going to need medical attention. More than I can provide that is.

Ben then broadcast wideband on his throat mic, "Mayday, this is Echo actual. Echo squad and I are currently pinned by a sniper in an unknown position. We got an injured squad mate who needs medical attention. Any armored unit in the area please respond, mayday."

Another bullet rang out and impacted the street about 7 feet from the squad. Ben peeked over cover and saw that the smoke was almost dissipated, but he couldn't see any sign of the sniper.

Ben got back down in cover before his luck ran out with the enemy sniper.

Ben then heard a voice ring out over the comms, "Echo lead, this is IFV 8 call sign "Blue Cab", we are responding to your mayday and are moving to extract your WIA, how copy? Over?"

Ben then said, "That's a solid copy Blue Cab, we appreciate the back up."

Another sniper bullet rang out and was immediately followed by Lincoln shouting, "I see the enemy sniper sir. Light yellow painted house down the street on the right, 60 meters, second floor.

Ben peaked over the car briefly to catch the glint of a sniper scope in the yellow painted house down the street, just as lightning flashed overhead.

After about two painstaking minutes, Ben heard a diesel engine droning in the distance, soon followed by the crunching of car metal as a PL-01 Fighting Vehicle, an IFV, rounded the intersection by the destroyed coffee shop.

Ben then shouted into his mic, "Blue Cab, this is Echo actual. We have eyes on the enemy sniper, yellow house on your left, second floor, first window on the right."

The Bradly stopped and its turret swung to aim at the house before its 105MM main cannon went off.

The barrel aimed at the window described and the vehicle fired its Bushmaster.

*Bang*

The main cannon shot its cannon round at the window, causing the wood of the house to splinter and the whole right second floor to collapse and shatter into rubble.

Ben was relieved that the sniper threat was no more and radioed the Bradly, thanking the crew for the timely arrival.

"No problem, Echo actual. Friendly medivac is on standby at town the outskirt of town. We'll transport your WIA there."

The hatch on the back opened up as Ben and Echo 3 carried Sarah over to the IFV.

Ben handed off Sarah to the IFV crew who put her on one of the benches in the Bradly as one of the crew members grabbed the trauma kit on board.

With Sarah secured, Ben and his squad began to move out to keep clearing the town.

Suddenly, they heard an explosion of gunfire about two blocks from their location. Ben then said to his squad, "Let's go check out the firefight and lend help to our forces."

Ben and Echo squad minus Sarah then weaved through destroyed buildings and empty parking lots to finally get to the source of the gunfire.

Once Ben and his squad got to the source of the gunfire, they saw it was the town hall within the city square.

The town hall building was a brick building that was now riddled with bullet holes and explosion damage. Outside the building, in the parking lot were scattered various cars, some turned over and others burnt out. Also, outside the building were about 50 HR rebels. Ben then ordered his squad down by a 4 foot high brick fence along the edge of the parking lot.

"There's our culprit, but who the fuck they shooting at" Ben said to no one in particular.

Ben did, however, notice bursts of green tracer rounds were being fired out of two of the buildings windows.

Ben recognized that the green tracers belonged to the CF since they were standard tracer rounds with all CF forces.

Ben knew that whoever was inside, was most likely affiliated with the CF marines or mechanized army units.

Ben then ducked down and began to speak to his squad, "Alright, they don't seem to know that we're here. Let's use that against them. We're going to set up a killzone. Echo's 2 and 8, take cover behind those overturned cars behind those ravagers. The rest of you, stay with me and prepare to fire on my mark.

Echo's 2 and 8 acknowledged with, "yes sir."

They then took off in a hunched over run, careful to not more too fast as to draw attention to themselves. The sound of gunfire, rain and thunder droned out their footsteps thankfully.

Now in position by the overturned 1930's black cars, Echo's 2 and 8 radioed they were in position.

Ben then spoke into his mic and said, "Alright, ready…Aim…Fire!"

The area was awash with green tracers as gun fire erupted all around as Victor aimed his M203 grenade launcher at the group and fired off a 40mm round.

The explosion peppered the groups and their cover, killing 6 of them alone. Ben then ordered Echo 9, Billy or "Wild Bill" as he was known for an itchy trigger finger, to saturate the few soldiers now exposed from the grenade blast with his M249 SAW (Squad Automatic Weapon).

Bill stood up out of cover and propped up his bipod and then shouted, "Dirty Motherfuckers" as he let loose the 200 round mag into the group.

The 5.56mm rounds weren't so great at penetrating cover, but the small powder amount per bullet allowed more controlled recoil over 7.62mm rounds.

The bullets had a great effect on the about 5 ravagers caught out in the open and even killed two more in cover. Shell casings clanged off of one another and the ground as the gun let loose the fury of its 200 round mag. Bill's gun soon clicked empty and he yelled, "I'm dry, reloadin'."

The slaughter of the HR rebels continued for several minutes before the last rebel fell. At last, only distant gunfire and lightning sounded. However, the rain slowly started to stop at last. The horrible smell of spent powder, blood and death clung to the air like a leech to their host.

Ben radioed Echo's 2 and 8 on a great job, but was greeted by Echo 2 saying, "Sir, Echo 8 is hit. It's not bleeding too bad, but her hip was grazed by enemy fire."

Ben then asked Echo 8 if she would make it back to base. She replied with a grunt and a strained voice, "Yeah, I'll live. It hurts but I think all I need is a few stitches and some recovery time."

Since she was the squad medic, Ben took her prognosis to a more trusted level. Ben then radioed wideband and said, "Any friendly forces within the Duncan town hall, this is Echo actual. Enemy combatants are neutralized and the area is secure. Can anyone hear me?"

Ben then soon heard a voice respond saying, "Echo, we read you loud and clear. Thanks for the save. We low on ammo."

Ben then paused and thought for a second before saying, "What unit you with soldier?"

Ben then heard the voice say, "7th Recon Team."

Ben then said, "Ain't the commander going to be thrilled to find you guys still alive."

"Yeah, he will sir" said the voice.

Ben then asked, "Can I ask who we had the pleasure of saving?"

The voice then said, "Lance Corporal Mangle, sir, everybody calls me that anyways."

Then a new voice sounded over the headset and said, "Private Leo, sir."

Ben couldn't believe the luck his squad had and didn't at the same time. They found the recon team sent in before the assault, which was a plus. That plus, however, came with the suffering of two valiant soldiers for the CF cause, a suffering which was felt by the whole squad, but more felt by Ben than anyone else. Ben was supposed to lead his men out safely at the end, and instead, her had two WIA's. Ben knew though, that this would not be the first loss he would encounter during this war…and while he was thankful that his losses were only WIA's, he had a feeling that this would only be the calm before the storm…the storm of the dark nature of man that is war.

 _ **It was a long and brutal battle in Duncan. Street by street, building by building, the dead and dying lay. The rain had finally stopped as night was setting in, the air still humid with horrible smell of humidity and war. Both sides suffered casualties, but the CF mourned its dead. Only 30 soldiers gave their lives for the cause of the CF, but the first victory in this long and brutal war was the CF's for the taking. Outside the destroyed ruins of the town hall, the HR flag was lowered and the CF flag rose, the meaning of which proudly waved over enemy territory. The flag was a blue flag with an orange Phoenix rising over the white continent of Pangea and Zootopia. The Phoenix held in its right talons a shield over the two continents and in its left talon a bar of gold over both continents. Every CF citizen and soldier knew the meaning of the flag…common good and valor over the CF and its ally Zootopia by the means of safety and economic prosperity.**_

 _ **Though the battle had been won, the war was far from over. It would only continue on the march to the capitol of the HR.**_

* * *

 **AN: What up guys, I'm just glad that this chapter didn't take me and my co-authors long, so yeah this chapter and the next chapter will be more about the war, Don't worry, by chapter 4 it will continue the films plot, constructive criticism is welcome. Until next time guys.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Warning: This chapter is probably the darkest and most emotional me ND my co-authors have come up with and wrote, readers be ready.**

* * *

 **Chapter 4: Affairs of Attrition and Attraction**

 _This is war_  
 _And it's on tonight_  
 _So get up and fight_  
 _Get up and fight_  
 _You had all your life_  
 _To run and hide_  
 _Step up, step up_  
 _Let's do this_

 _~War-Sick Puppies~_

 _It was once said by a famous ancient warlord named Sun Tzu that the brutality of slaughter…the beauty of battle…was known as an art. The art of war, no matter how romanticized the phrase could be, can never stand as a real form of art. Where art gives birth to new life and civility, war only gives birth to ruin and death. So then, why call it art?_

 _Actually, why even call it war? Why even have war?_

 _As Echo squad and I, joined with the CF military pushed deeper into HR controlled Pangean lands, I began to question more and more about the purpose of war. In every battle across the frontline, the HR sent human assault waves to their imminent slaughter on the killing grounds of the battlefield. The loss of life staggered me._

 _And Yet…_

 _I couldn't help but feel…at home on the battlefield. It's strange yes, I know. Still home doesn't just mean where you are safe, it also means where you feel the most comfortable. Here, among the blood soaked fields where death himself treads like an ancient, hungry predator circling its prey, I feel like I'm serving my duty. Those back in Pangea and Zootopia, the innocents in all of this who sleep soundly in their beds at night do so cause of the valiant guardians of the conflict zone…us. Here, I can protect those with no means to protect themselves from these savage HR fucks. Here, I can keep my parents safe, the Hopps safe, and Judy safe. While I cannot condone the effects of war and neither the trauma of war, I can still keep those vulnerable safe._

 _Our forces kept their steady progress towards the HR capitol, with only the goal of the end of this war in sight beyond the horizon of victory. Though this road was long and difficult, it never the less took the CF 2 years to get to this point where victory would be in our grasp. There has been our fair share of brave soldiers who gave the ultimate sacrifice, journeying into the darkness of deaths form and embrace, only to never return. Though the dead will never be forgotten, the same cannot be said for HR prime minister and the dead of the HR. Even after continuous defeats at our hand, the prime minister demanded that every HR soldier and civilian give their life to defend their lands down to the old, the weak and the sick. I started to question whether evil had now transcended the boundaries of anonymity and was now living amongst the mortality of this world, presenting its evil, crooked and dark presence as the prime minister. How could a leader of men abandon the duty to keep his people safe?_

 _Still, evil has many forms and its will knows no limit. This was proven to us and the rest of the world at the Battle of Saturnine Pass just how far evil was willing to go…_

* * *

Overcast skies held on throughout most of the day as the air was full of pollen and dust being kicked up from the grassy fields as the wind whipped across the open expanse on the far side of Saturnine Pass. The 200 foot rock walls climbed proudly to the skies behind the scattered and dug in CF forces of the 183rd Mechanized Infantry Battalion, more specifically the troops led by Captain Walker. The battalion was enjoying a few hours break after the last 8 hours' worth of trekking that Captain Walker's division had made across hilly and rough terrain. The reason why they were dug in had to do with their current position. The 183rd were currently deep within HR territory, and while much of the territory behind the division going back through the winding pass was now under CF control, they were situated right against unscouted and unsecure land. Several of the squads had found refuge in two wide ditches that lay about 100ft from each other. The mechanized infantry were mostly attached to other division leaders, with only one squad of four soldiers attached to Captain Walker's division. Being not in active combat, these soldiers were out of their suits, which stood hunched over slightly in one of the ditches. The squads that were not able to fit in the two ditches were either sitting on the ground and using some shrubs and ferns for visual cover, or had dug foxholes to keep themselves safe in.

Ben and his squad was one such squad to be in one of the two ditches. Most of Ben's squad was currently eating an MRE based lunch, with the MRE's tailored to the soldier's diet. Predators were eating seafood based entrées with fried grasshoppers, while the Prey were enjoying fruit cocktail and vegetables. The majority of the soldiers, being human, were enjoying MRE's made from fish, vegetables and fruit with some grain thrown in as well.

Ben took yet another bite from his whitefish fillet as he looked around at his squad. Two of his squad mates had finished their chow a while ago and were now talking about what they planned to do once they got back to base.

Ben just finished his MRE and discarded the packaging in the ditch next to him. Then, he noticed Franko was whittling a stick of medium thickness with his K-Bar knife humming softly as he did.

Suddenly, Franko's and Lincoln's ears perked up as they froze for a few moments, which made Ben incredibly uneasy.

Ben picked up on this right away and said, "What you guys hearing?"

Ben could suddenly hear a very faint whistling noise coming from the air. The two of them, being animals, must have been able to hear it first.

He knew what it was right away.

Screaming loudly, which made Echo squad nearly jump off the ground, Ben yelled, "Arty fire! Take cover!"

He hit the dirt in the bottom of the ditch and prayed that the shell would not land on their position, Echo squad followed suit in hitting the deck.

The whistling was very loud now, soon followed by a loud explosion as the shell exploded right outside of the ditch they were in. Ben's ears started ringing from the deafening noise as he felt his body be jolted in the trench.

The air was now filled with periodic whistling sounds from more artillery rounds being fired from old 1910's howitzers as the rest of the division was now on full alert. Captain Walker radioed over the comms and yelled, "Enemy arty fire. Anyone have eyes on the source?"

Echo was hunkered down from the enemy shelling. Ben peaked his head up to peer over the ditch, but was hard pressed to be able to see any location in site the howitzers were firing from as up ahead in the distance were scattered areas of vegetation and rolling hills. Ben radioed over his throat mic and said, "Captain, that's a negative sir. No eyes on enemy long range weapons."

"Fuck, somebody get a drone up. Give me a report on those howitzers" the Captain yelled.

After the Battle of Duncan, Echo squad was reinforced with two new squad mates, Mangle and Leo. It took some convincing of Commander Yonobie to allow the remains of their force recon unit to merge with Echo squad, but the fact that Ben and Echo had saved Yonobie's force recon team was a big factor in the decision.

Mangle grabbed a small quad-rotor drone and went to go press a button on the top of the drone. However, as soon as the drones rotors began to spin in a whirring noise, the shelling was combined with another new sound. This one terrified the hell out of Echo.

The report of gunfire started to sound off in the distance as HR rebels began to put shots off at the CF marines dug in the ditches and foxholes. Bullets hit the dirt with thwacking sounds and whizzed by CF soldiers.

Ben went to go fire off at the enemies' direction, but noticed that two full squads were up ahead from the ditches and were dug in fox holes, unable to move due to enemy fire.

Ben radioed over his throat mic and spoke to Captain Walker, "Sir, this is Echo actual; we got friendly infantry squads pinned between enemy fire and our fire lines. They are sitting ducks out there."

Captain Walker then said, "Copy that Echo actual." Then Captain Walker broadcast wideband to the entire division. "All callsigns, this is Captain Walker. Delta squad, Zulu squad, pull back from your positions and regroup with the main force. All other squads lay down suppressive fire and give our boys an escape."

Ben then shouted to his men, "You heard the Captain, bring the cover Echo."

Ben and Echo stood up in the ditch just enough to give them a stable shooting position and opened fire off down range towards the presumed enemy position. Echo's suppressive fire was joined with that of other squads as they rapidly started to open fire. The Power Armor soldiers had already embarked into their suits and readied their mini-guns as they climbed up out of the trench to open fire. Bullets clanged and ricocheted off their metallic, sturdy armor harmlessly as their mini-guns spooled up and began to let off one steady continuous noise of gun fire.

The retreat route for Delta and Zulu was an empty space, devoid of friendly suppressive fire that the squads took advantage of. Enemy fire slowed to almost a crawl as the mini-guns joined in to cover the friendly retreat. Delta and Echo sprinted madly down the open area towards friendly positions.

Bullets flew around the retreating members, with some being hit in the back by enemy fire, but the Dragon Scale body armor absorbed most of the kinetic energy from the bullets.

The friendly squads hopped into other allied positions, heaving from lack of breath.

After the successful allied retreat, Ben noticed movement from the crest of some of the hills. Ben radioed in and broadcast wideband, "All callsigns, movement on hilltops behind enemy positions, assume bodies to be hostile."

Ben then heard a soldier from a fellow squad near him speak up, peering over the ditch as more gunfire joined in.

"Sargent, bodies are host…" he said. Then a bullet hit the soldier right in his shoulder as he fell backwards and rolled into the ditch.

Ben then quickly added in, "Bodies are hostile. I repeat, new contacts on hills are hostile." As Ben was speaking, a soldier outside his squad shouted, "Medic!"

The battle continued for a few minutes, both sides exchanging fire. Snipers on the CF were picking off enemy rebels with ease, whereas the snipers for the rebels were only marginally successful in landing shots due to superior enemy firepower and body armor. Soldiers fired off burst after burst at the enemy as the power armor soldiers were able to hit the rebels in the bushes and foliage off in the distance, but were inaccurate at hitting the enemy on the even further hilltops. Mangle and "Wild Bill" were firing off sustained bursts at the enemy positions using their LMG's as Leo was taking precise shots at the rebels from his sniper rifle.

Captain Walker then ordered over the comms, "Enemy positions on hilltop aren't collapsing, mortar teams, bring the rain."

A mortar team started to set up in both ditches. One of the mortar team spotters said, "I got an angle, 32 degrees, 600 meters." Soon the 120mm mortars began to lob shells at a trajectory towards the enemy hills as the new mortar shells were being loaded into the weapons by the crew.

The fight kept raging until the enemy positions in the foliage up from the CF's position started to collapse due to sniper fire and automatic weapon fire.

Ben pulled out the mag from his AK-12 and went to grab another mag from his vest pocket. However, he could hear several voices in the distance shouting, "Fuck this, we ain't doing anything to the CF" and "Jackson, we got to get out of here, or we're all going to die."

Ben peeked over the ditch and was met with a voice yelling, "Fuck this shit, the Prime Minister can go to hell. We're getting out of here. Retreat!"

Ben could see about 20 figures sprint out from the foliage and run back towards enemy lines in a clear panic. Ben aimed his AK-12 and fired off a couple of bursts. The rebels were doing a serpentine maneuver as they retreated, which caused most of the CF bullets to miss their target. Only five rebels fell to the firepower of the dug in marines.

Mangle steadied his sniper after reloading the mag with a fresh set of rounds. He aimed down the variable zoom scope and went to fire on a retreating rebel, when something in the distance caught his attention.

Up on the hills that the CF mortars were shelling, three maxim MG08 machine guns were set up, which confused Mangle as there was no way that those machine gun nests could hit a target from that distance against the marines.

Mangle switched to a 12x zoom and could see the rebels running towards the machine guns as Mangle swung the sight back over the machine gun crews to see what appeared to be an officer of sorts speaking and gesturing at the retreating men. Suddenly, the MG08's opened fire, not on the CF, but on their own men.

Mangle was shocked to see the rebels being gunned down in retreat by their own side. The rest of Echo was vaguely able to make out what had happened from this distance, but it was still too far for them to see any great detail.

Mangle dropped back into the ditch and then spoke to Echo, "Echo, you won't believe this, but the HR just killed their own retreating soldiers. What the flying fuck?"

Lincoln and Franko were silent in confusion and fear over the brutality of what Mangle just said. Most of the human soldiers of Echo were shocked, but it was apparent only at the stupidity of the HR killing its own people. Ben was the only squad member that had no real clear emotion present over it. Inwardly, he was happy that more of the rebels were now dead, but he also felt as if he wanted to kill them rather than the enemy machine guns.

Ben was about to speak when he heard a deep rumbling sound, and was already guessing as to what the enemy was bringing to bear against them.

Ben heard a friendly member of another squad yell out, "Fuck guys, we got enemy armor closing in."

Ben reflexively shouted, "What" as he looked over the ditch to see what the squad member was talking about?! Off from over the hills to the right, which were gentler rolling hills than the ones the enemy riflemen and machine guns were off in the distance, Ben could see the very top of some metal forms cresting over the tallest of those rolling hills.

Sure enough, there were 6 enemy tanks that were rolling over the hills. 2 were A7VS, 2 were FT-1917's and the remaining two tanks were a T-40 and a Tiger tank.

Taking a wide birth around those tanks, Ben could see two old Halftrack trucks carrying infantry that were trying to circle around and flank the dug in marines.

Ben spoke into his throat mic to Captain Walker, "Sir, Echo Actual here, we got eyes on enemy armor approaching from the east. Contact in less than 20 seconds, how copy over?"

"Solid copy Echo lead, I'm going to try and see if any airborne units are in the area to handle the enemy armor. Just hold out as long as you can soldiers" replied the Captain.

Ben then spoke to his squad, "Echo, enemy armor contact will be in less than 10 seconds. Our combat engineers may be able to take out a few of them with their AT4's, but they are going to need a distraction. We're going to push up to that line of foliage up ahead and try to draw attention away from the rest of the division.

Truth be told, the division of the 183rd Mechanized that Ben was with had combat engineers, with a few of them armed with AT4's. However, with their division having the fewest combat engineers out of the entire battalion, as well as the presence of a Tiger and a T-40, there was a small chance that the AT rockets from the AT4's might ricochet off of the armor since they were using HEDP rounds, which weren't rated all too well against modern tanks, but against the older models the rebels were using, they could be quite successful if they hit the right mark.

Ben then quickly radioed Captain Walker and said, "Sir, Echo here. We're going to push up to the foliage up ahead and give the engineers a distraction so they can hit their mark with the AT4's."

Walker then said, "Copy that, over and out."

Ben then yelled, "Echo, move"

Ben and Echo climbed over the ditch and sprinted like madmen towards the foliage and managed to duck into cover within the bushes and few trees just before the enemy tanks crested the last hill to be able to them.

Ben knew that this was a very desperate and possibly suicidal tactic, but if it would save the lives of the rest of the division, he didn't care. He knew his squad would follow him to hell and back.

Ben ordered his team down and then told Victor to ready a smoke grenade.

"Sir, are you insane. That's just inviting the tanks to turn this placed into a crater" said Victor in response.

Ben then clarified and said, "Which is why we are going to throw it at the further end of the foliage. I want you to throw it on my mark, but first we're going to put a few shots off at the tanks, then you'll throw the grenade and we'll run back to this end. They won't be any wiser."

Bill then said, "Sargent, bullets won't get them to attack us over the rest of the division."

He was right, they would need something with more of a kick. Ben moved and his foot just happened to show him the kick that they would need. Ben looked down and saw an old Panzerfaust that was lying next to a dead rebel. Ben picked up the launcher and said, "I'll fire this off at one of the tanks."

Ben then heard the sound of another engine grow closer as he saw one of the A7VS that was driving towards them, apparently taking the longer way around to meet their halftracks. Ben then said, "I see our target."

Ben told Victor to be ready with the smoke as Ben went to the very edge of the grouping of foliage to fire his rocket. Ben aimed the Panzerfaust at the target as the tank was approaching their position, preparing to drive past their location. Ben looked to his right and saw the other enemy tanks were about to engage the division and readied their cannons as they swung to aim at the enemy. Mortar rounds were being directed to try to destroy the enemy armor, shells exploding around the tanks and one of the FT-1917's suffered a direct hit as the tank exploded in a fireball. This threw Ben's aim off and caused Ben to fire the Panzerfaust rocket at the enemy tank as it was coming up a shallow incline. Ben's rocket flew just under the front of the tank and impacted the right track of the tank at an angle, blowing apart the track and disabling the tank. The tank slid down the end of the shallow decline of a hill and stopped as the barrel for the cannon aimed higher towards Ben. The tank tried to fire at Ben, but the shell just slammed into dirt harmlessly.

Ben chucked away the launcher and shouted "now" through the throat mic!

Victor threw the grenade towards Ben as he ran back towards his squad. The grenade went off in a hissing noise as a cloud of white smoke formed in the area.

The distraction paid off.

Two of the tanks, including the T-40, rotated to aim at where their disabled vehicle was reportedly shot from. The T-40 crew was even stupid enough to turn their tank towards the foliage in a 45 degree angle, leaving the back exposed for the AT4 combat engineers.

Enemy shells and machine gun fire reported and slammed into the foliage as Ben's squad braced themselves through the shockwaves and explosions on the far end. Shrapnel from trees and branches flew around them as their ears were ringing from the detonations.

Lincoln started to panic from everything happening at once as death flew over his head and around him by screaming in a panicked and fearful voice as the fear of dying screamed in his head.

The combat engineers back at the ditches and fox holes readied their AT-4's and fired off their only shots they had.

One of the friendly rocket rounds impacted the back of the T-40 and reduced it to a smoldering scrap pile.

One of the rockets hit the only remaining A7VS and went straight into the back of that tank and caused that tank to detonate in a fireball.

One of the rockets missed its mark and flew just left of one of the tanks and nearly destroyed an enemy halftrack that had stopped off on the left near some trees to drop off their troops.

The last rocket hit the front of the tiger tank at an angle, and exploded on contact. When the blast cleared, the tank's armor was heavily damaged, but was still intact enough that the round failed to fully penetrate. The Tiger was operational.

Meanwhile, the enemy troops disembarking from their halftracks were using other scattered pockets of foliage and the destroyed ruins of the tanks for cover.

The friendly marine forces opened fire on the enemy troops as they fired on our positions. Meanwhile, three of the enemy tanks were still left functional and were now firing their cannons at our dug in troops.

Ben and his squad were still left out in enemy lines, and as such were unable to fire or risk giving away the only remaining chance of cover they had left.

The friendly mortars were lobbing shells at the halftracks that were set up behind the rebels, firing their machine guns at the marines. The mortar rounds landed in the area around the halftracks, kicking up dirt and sending shrapnel flying. Finally, after 30 seconds, a mortar round landed on one of the halftracks and destroyed it, causing it to explode in a fireball that sent the gunner in the machine turret flying out of the position in pieces. His upper half landed almost in the foliage that Ben and his squad was in, the soldier's eyes blank and dead. Unfortunately, this left six more halftracks still functional, but the mortar crews kept targeting the vehicles.

Finally, Ben got a communication over his ear piece connected to the throat mic, it was Captain Walker.

"All squads, this is Captain Walker. I have confirmation on friendly armor moving in from the west, enroot to reinforce our position. Give them everything you got, soldiers. Help is on its way."

Ben was relieved to hear the news, but was still angry over his inability to help the marines without jeopardizing his men's positions.

Shortly, another sound of engines began to fill the ears of all the infantry in the area. Ben looked out to the west and saw what most likely was the friendly armor was rolling in. The machines rolled into view as they drove around the last hill.

The friendly armor were 2 T-90's, 2 Black Panthers and 2 Leopard 2's. The armor drove in a standard formation that put the tanks being set up in a 45 degree line, giving the tanks optimal angle at the hostile forces.

"Marines, this is Lieutenant Vostov, call sign 'Stomper', your support has arrived. Keep laying into the rebels, we'll handle the armor first" said the tank formation leader.

The friendly tank's barrels lined up with the enemy tanks as their cannons fired off AT shells at the enemy units.

The Tiger tank was hit with two shells from a T-90 and a Black Leopard and the tank exploded into flames as the turret was forced off the ring from the detonation.

Meanwhile, the friendly machine gunners on the tanks targeted the enemy infantry as they kept mowing down the hostile rebels.

Ben decided that this was the perfect opportunity rejoin the combat.

"Echo, open fire into their infantry, short controlled bursts" Ben shouted to his squad.

Echo rejoined the firefight and capitalized on the angle that his squad had on the rebel soldiers as they were completely flanked by Echo.

After bullets started flying from Echo and the report of gunfire filled the air, the rebels knew they were being pincered by the CF. Some of the rebels returned fire against Echo Squad, but they were now in deep trouble.

A T-90 just fired its third shell at the last rebel tank, the armor piercing round easily piercing through the outdated and flimsy armor that the old tank had.

Now with no armor left for the rebels, the last few halftracks and the rebels began a retreat back towards the hills behind Echo's positions. The rebel machine gun emplacements on the hill tops took notice of the retreating HR forces and went to ready to fire upon their own retreating forces. However, as the HR pulled back, the CF marines pushed out of the ditches and fox holes, with the exception of the snipers.

Friendly marines took cover behind destroyed vehicles and some even ran into the foliated area that Echo was in. The CF armor pushed up and all of the tanks opened fire on the rebels.

The machine guns on the hills were now showing just how undisciplined the HR forces were. Upon seeing all the CF firing on the retreating rebels, the machine gun crews abandoned their positions rather than carry out their orders to kill any retreating HR fighters. Ben aimed his AK-12 at one of the rebel soldiers who was at the base of the hill and fired off a burst of 4 rounds, two of which seemed to find their target as the soldier fell to the ground grunting in pain.

The only halftrack still left kept going forwards towards the fallen HR soldier and started driving over the HR soldier, crushing his body as bones crunched and shattered as he screamed in agony until the vehicle drove over his head and crushed his skull, ending his life.

The rest of the CF marines kept firing until the enemy was out of sight over the hill. Then, the sounds of screaming and concerted effort of the retreating rebels slowly dissipated, until all that was left was silence. Sweet precious silence.

Ben and the other marines then got a message over their earpieces from Captain Walker.

"Marines, that was a phenomenal job at repealing an enemy ambush. I'm proud to have men and women such as you under my command. However, this fight is not over. Friendly A-10's from Malta Airforce Base will take over in handling the retreating rebels. For now, secure the area and see to the wounded and dead. Captain Walker out."

* * *

 _After the surprise ambush that had occurred on my division, our forces were routed to a friendly forward base nearby to rearm and get the wounded medivaced. I was thankful that none of my squad suffered any injury or loss of life, especially considering what had been done to achieve such a victory despite the enemy having the advantage at first._

 _Upon arriving at the base, we were told that we had 18 hours before our division would meet up with the rest of the battalion to continue our push towards the HR capitol. Upon arrival, the base was quite nice given the fact it was a temporary facility in enemy territory. It had some luxuries such as satellite internet, but lacked any real recreational facility. In addition, it had indoor, secure sleeping quarters, a makeshift mess hall and was surrounded by concrete walls and guard towers for some added protection._

 _It was from here that due to the internet access, I was able to see that Judy had sent me a response from my Email I sent her last week, and she said she would like to video chat when I was safe and able to do so. Though I wished I could do these more frequently as this was only just the 12th time in two years we had managed to find the chance to have our little conversations like this._

 _My dealing with her was…a little unusual from our past encounters._

* * *

Ben had just entered the sleeping quarters after doing his best to try to rinse off the smell of sweat and battle that clung to him from earlier, although due to the lack of access to soap and a proper showing facility, it didn't work too well. He still smelled, but Ben didn't really care too much. After all, there was only so much that the temporary shower stalls could do and Ben accepted that. What Ben was more focused on was the possible barrage of questions and concerns that he would get.

Ben went over to a table in the sleeping quarters that had the only 4 computers set up in the structure.

Ben sat down and logged into the secured computer using his military email and credentials as the log in.

Hopefully Judy doesn't mind our conversation being monitored over the network back home he thought.

He then continued to think, Eh, probably better not to tell her. She doesn't need to know anyways.

Ben connected to the video chat service that the military uses through Skype, although it was kept on a separate network for obvious security reasons.

Ben logged in on Skype and saw that Judy was already on her end through muzzletime as Ben had contacted her half an hour earlier through email that he could video chat.

Ben took a deep breath and exhaled through his mouth, trying to prepare himself for the onslaught of Judy about to happen.

Ben then clicked to connect to her through video, and after not even 30 seconds, Ben's favorite bunny friend was on his screen.

"Hey" they both said at the same time, which caused Judy to look away slightly embarrassed at the situation.

Ben just chuckled and said playfully with a smile, "Jinx."

Judy let out a chuckle at Ben's response and said, "Sorry about that, but it's so great to be able to hear your voice and see you again Ben. You have no idea."

Ben shrugged his shoulders and said, "I could tell."

Ben was the first to speak then as he said, "So since we've been wanting to see what's been going on with each other, you want to go first or you want me to go first."

Judy scoffed playfully and said, "I obviously want you to go first Ben. I've been dying to let you know about how things have been back home."

Ben chuckled briefly, but dropped to a curious expression as he then asked, "If so, then why didn't you just email me and tell me?"

Judy's ears dropped a third of the way as she was conflicted, slightly embarrassed and insecure about the reason why.

"Oh, you know. I figured since you asked to video chat, that we could touch up further face to face" she said with slight nervousness as she tried to dodge giving a straight answer.

…And to be able to see your handsome face she thought to herself slightly dreamingly. However her face went hot not only for thinking that, but to also ask herself why she would even think that about her best friend.

He's not even a bunny. Why would I even think that she thought to herself?

Ben could tell that Judy was drifting off deep into thought, so he wanted to bring her back to reality.

"Hey Judy, the train to Judyland hasn't left the station yet" Ben said playfully.

Judy snapped out of her thoughts, which Ben could tell that she must have been thinking conflicting feelings about. Yet, he couldn't place them as to what they were about.

"Oh, sorry" Judy said simply.

"I'll fill you in first. So things in BunnyBurrow have been pretty quiet since you left. Business is booming through as all the farmers, even my parents, are making so much money selling their produce to the CF. Oh, also Shannon finally had that male bunny that lives next door to her ask her out. That only took him like, what, 3 months."

After she said the last part, Judy giggled slightly at the humor of the situation.

Judy then added, "Also, three of my sisters are also dating too. Remember Jill, Julie and Jessie?"

Ben nodded his head, whole-heartedly listening and said, "Yeah?"

Judy reclined in her chair and put her paws together as she said in a happy and free spirited voice, "Well, they started dating humans. Dad didn't really trust most humans other than you and your parents, but he's warmed up to them. Jill's dating a volunteer firefighter here in BunnyBurrow. The guys got one of the deepest voices I ever heard, I swear."

Ben chuckled lightly at his friend's energetic nature as she kept on talking, "Julie went away to college last semester in Pangea to major in mechanical engineering. There she met a college aged guy named Jacob. The two of them have been dating for about a month now."

"…And finally Jessie. She's dating a guy in the CF and get this, he's a corporal in the army reserves" said Judy with a sparkle in her eye of happiness and spirit.

Ben then said somewhat shocked, "No fooling?"

Judy laughed lightly and said, "I swear Ben. He's like the perfect match for her. They both like Pangean Anime, video games and sports."

Ben became somewhat curious about what Judy was talking about. He now knew that some of her siblings were dating humans, but he was wondering how Judy felt about it.

"Can I ask you something Judy" said Ben?

Judy then said, "Of course you can Ben. Isn't that the point of us video chatting right now." She spoke that last part with a grin on her muzzle.

Ben then said, "True. Anyways, I was wondering…how do you feel about three of your sisters dating humans?"

Judy's ears again went back about a third of the way as she seemed to both be contemplating the question, while also appearing to be nervous about what answer to give.

Judy then after a few moments then said, "Well I, uh…don't see a problem in it, if that's what you're asking. I'm happy for them. I mean, humans are so interesting and yet so many animals are uncomfortable around them."

Ben then felt his face grow slightly hot as he then spoke while trying to hide his nervousness as much as he could, "Well, would you be uncomfortable?"

Judy gave a 'like really' expression as she said plainly, "Ben, my best friend in the world is a human. Why would I be uncomfortable?"

Ben chuckled nervously and mentally slapped himself for letting that break through his façade. He then said, "Not that Judy, I mean…how would you feel about dating a…human."

Judy's ears fell all the way back as her entire body grew hot and uneasy. She could feel knots in her stomach as she looked down in nervousness. Ben was now growing more curious about what was bothering her.

Judy then said looking up at him while trying to avoid direct eye contact, "Well…um, I'm not really sure. I…guess it wouldn't bother me. As long as the human was kind, caring and was fun to be around."

Judy knew that her answer was out of purely nervousness. She probably wouldn't want to since she would be dealing with the species difference…but then again if it were Ben, maybe she could…

No, stop it Judy. You don't even know if he would even feel the same way. The last thing I want is to lose my best friend all because of my stupid feelings she thought.

Meanwhile, Ben could feel his stomach grow uneasy at her answer.

Lately, Ben's separation from Judy and home was starting to get to him in a certain way. He was missing home, sure, but he was missing Judy too.

It was a weird sense of missing though. Part of Ben wanted to keep fighting this war and bring peace and stability to Zootopia and Pangea. However, another part of Ben wanted to just go home to be with his best friend. He felt that she must have been worrying herself sick about him and whether the next day she would find out that he had been killed and was brought home in a body bag. Ben wanted to just step through this screen right now and give Judy a huge hug and let her know that he would never disappear from his friend's life. Ben could feel himself blush slightly at the thought of what Judy gave him just before he left her house in BunnyBurrow.

She had kissed him. He wasn't sure if the kiss was purely platonic or not at that point, but he thought about that event at least once a day since he's been deployed on his tour of duty. Granted, he made a point to bury those thoughts when he was in battle, but between fighting, that event would swirl in his head. Now, after hearing her answer, Ben wasn't any more certain if the kiss to his cheek was platonic or not.

"Ben! Hey Ben, you alright" asked Judy for the third time?!

It was Ben's turn to be driven from deep thought.

"What" he asked blankly?

Judy giggled and snickered at her friend's expression.

Wow, he's cute when he's caught off guard like this she thought.

Judy then said, "I don't think Ben Airlines flight to Ben Land is supposed to depart yet."

Ben gave her a blank face for about ten seconds that began to make Judy really nervous if she had done something wrong.

Finally, Ben just smiled and said, "Touche, my bunny buddy."

Judy laughed at his response. She then became nervous again as she was curious now thinking about why Ben would have asked if she would have a problem dating a human or not.

"Ben, can I ask you something" she said.

Ben then jokingly said, "I think you just did."

Judy rolled her eyes and said, "Oh ha ha" in a teasing tone.

She then said, "I was wondering…um, why you wanted to know if I'd be fine dating a human?"

Ben's entire face grew hot and slightly red, and he was worried if Judy would be able to tell.

I can't tell her the truth, he thought. I don't even know if she has feelings for me.

Ben knew that the kiss to his cheek could have been platonic and he didn't want to ruin his friendship with Judy.

Ben then tried his best to hide his nervousness, "Oh, just wondering if you were thinking about trying to find that special somebody yet."

Ben slapped himself mentally at how bad that response could be interpreted. Surprisingly, Judy seemed to not really notice.

"Oh, well no. Nobody here is interesting to me like that right now" she said.

Both friends sat there in silence for about a minute, each afraid about what they talked about had put a strain on their friendship.

Finally, Judy then said, "So I'm probably afraid to ask, but how are things over there?"

Ben then said, "Well, other than being shot at and losing some of my squad mates to HR fire, it's going about as good as it can be."

Judy's expression worsened to show concern for her friend right now.

Ben then added, "I've been fine and I plan to keep it that way. Hopefully this war will be over soon so I can come home."

Judy then said, "Yeah. It's been quite lonely here without you around. None of our friends back home seem to share that same type of bond with me that we do. Not even Shannon."

Ben then said, "I thought Shannon was your other best friend?"

"Best girlfriend" Judy clarified. "As such, she and I have a different bond than I have with you. You're my best guy friend."

"Oh" said Ben simply.

Ben then added in, "Yeah, things have been really lonely here too. Sure I enjoy time with my squad when we're between battles and at base, but they aren't my friends really."

"Yeah…" said Judy trailing off.

Ben then heard Bonnie call out over the call in the background, "Judy, can you come help your dad fix this dining chair?"

Stu then said, "I don't need her… *cracking noise as one of the legs breaks*…help."

A few moments of silence followed before Stu then said in embarrassment, "Hey Judy, you feel like helping your old man out?"

Ben and Judy laughed at the situation before Judy then said, "I got to go I guess."

Ben then said, "Yeah, I need to get some grub and then some shut eye."

Judy then said, "Ben?"

"Yeah" he said?

"You promise I'll see you again soon" she said timidly?

Ben then smiled and said, "As soon as I get another chance I'll let you know, Judy."

Judy beamed him a big smile as she said, "I hope it's soon."

"Me too" he said.

"Bye" they both said.

The chat disconnected.

* * *

Judy stood up out of her desk chair and started to walk out of the room. However, she turned her head to the left and spotted her stuffed carrot toy. She stopped and then went over to the toy and grabbed it and hugged it tightly as she cried slightly.

"I wish it were Ben" she said. "I miss him being here."

…And I want to tell him how I feel she thought to herself.

Judy put the toy back on the bed and walked out of her room.

* * *

Meanwhile, Ben reclined in the chair in the sleeping quarters and let out a huge sigh.

He looked out of the window slightly to the right of him and started to think.

I hope I don't end up breaking my promise to her he thought. I just wish I was with her to comfort her.

He then slammed his fist on the table in frustration.

I wish I could straight up ask her if she has feelings for me. I just want to know. I just want to know if she feels the same way I've been feeling.

Ben stood up from the chair and pushed it back in. He started to walk out of the sleeping quarters, and as he opened the door, he looked back towards the same computer he had used, almost if Judy was still on the screen.

Maybe someday I'll find out, and hopefully I'll still be alive to enjoy it.

He then stepped out of the building and closed the door.

* * *

Ben made his way over to the mess hall to see what he could do in the way of food. He had no way of knowing whether or not if this base had actual cooks or if he and the soldiers here were going to have to use MRE's for the meals for the next 16 hours.

Ben opened the door to the rectangular single storied brick building that was the mess hall. The inside reflected the speed at which the base was constructed: concrete floors, bare walls and only two windows in the building. Ben could smell something that made his taste buds dance in anticipation…real food cooking on stoves.

They must have an actual cook or two here he thought.

Ben went to the line where they were serving food, and there weren't many choices as it was expected for such a temporary base and short stay here for him and his division. Ben ended up getting two whitefish filets with vegetables and corn bread. Ben sat down at one of the tables after grabbing his plasticware.

However, before he could dig in, two other soldiers from his squad had gotten their food from the serving tables and were walking towards him.

Bill chose a bug burger and the side vegetables, while Lincoln chose the side vegetables and a salad. It made sense due to him being a Prey.

The two of them came over to Ben and Bill then asked, "Can we join you, sir?"

Ben chuckled and said, "I don't see any rule saying you can't."

Ben could tell that Bill wanted to roll his eyes at him, but Bill chose not to out of respect for Ben's higher rank.

"Fair enough" he said simply.

They sat down and began to eat as Bill then said, "So I was in the sleeping quarters about an hour ago on one of the computers, and I found out what happened to those rebels that we routed from the battlefield earlier."

Ben glanced up at Bill as he swallowed a bit of his whitefish fillet and then said, "What might that be?"

Bill then said, "I found a news broadcast from The Guardian's Star that showed that the A-10's that the Captain was talking about finished off the rebels…with napalm."

Ben stopped chewing mid-sentence as he gave Bill an "are you serious" look.

Bill then said, "Yeah, those flyboys fucking roasted those ravager shitfuckers. Oh, I wish I could have been there to see those traitors suffer."

Lincoln, who must not have understood really what napalm can do, then looked at Bill and said a little scared to know, "What happened to them?"

Bill laughed and said, "Didn't you hear me? I said they got fucking roasted man. They even showed a close up on a few of the bodies. This one rebel was covered in 3rd degree burns and it looked like his skin almost boiled off of his body dude. This other one must have been a direct hit cause he had 4th degree burns right down to the bone, looked like a burnt black piece of wood man."

Lincoln stared at him mouth agape at how Bill was so passively talking about it like it was the single greatest thing he'd even seen.

Ben, meanwhile, just groaned and said, "Oh for fuck sakes Bill, we're eating! Come on!

Bill joked and said, "I didn't expect you two to have such weak stomachs."

Lincoln looked like he was about to fucking punch out Bills lights, so not wanting to have the MP's called in here to detain Lincoln and break up a fight I then said, "Soldier, drop the conversation. Now!"

Bills dark smile disappeared as he then sulked in his chair and said, "Yes, sir. Sorry sir."

Lincoln then went back to eating as he gave Bill a dirty look periodically, but underneath that look Lincoln was horrified at the descriptions he was hearing.

How the hell could humans just dish out one of the worst deaths imaginable like that he thought in shock?

* * *

 _After the rest of the 18 hours were up, my squad and our division got sent back out in the field to rendezvous with the rest of our Battalion._

 _We kept on marching towards our rendezvous with the other divisions of the battalion, encountering only small pockets of resistance here and there. This either meant two things: A) The HR's numbers were severely depleted and that left no way for them to amass great numbers of fighters, or B) it meant that the Prime Minister recalled most of the remaining rebels back to defend the capitol._

 _I was appalled at the war policies of the HR and him sending his people to the slaughter against us. It was as if he wanted every last man, woman and child to shed blood until the last drop of their peoples blood runs dry in the sea of death and decay. I felt myself mentally cringe as I could only image the future prospects of fighting child soldiers. While our division had encountered an amount of female rebels joining the battle against our efforts, it had only recently started to show a major increase._

 _If I had to shot a child soldier to save myself or those I command, would I be able to pull the trigger? Could I live knowing for the rest of my life I murdered a child?_

 _What would Judy think? My parents think?_

 _I pushed those thoughts aside as we kept our push towards their capitol. However, in a forest about 80 miles out from the capitol, my division and I encountered a dark secret that the HR had been concealing for the longest time. Something so shocking and horrifying that it would send ripples across the Commonwealth Federation and Zootopia._

 _It was on this day that the curtain lifted and the true darkest nature of humankind revealed itself as not only protectors and warriors, but as the pawns for death itself._

* * *

Echo squad was currently on patrol in a dense forest that lay 80 miles outside of the Capitol. The division had set up a forward camp in a clearing in the forest, and Echo was currently one of the squads being sent out to secure the outlying area to make sure there weren't any rebels lying in wait in ambush to attack their camped position. The forest lay very quiet with only the sounds of a gentle breeze rustling through the trees and insects buzzing filling the air.

Echo was on constant guard, afraid that behind every tree was an HR rebel waiting to ambush them. Mangle looked around, scanning both the forest ground and the tree tops for possible threats as he kept his M60E4 on a swivel where he was looking at. The leaves beneath the squad crunched softly with each step they took.

Mangle then said, "It's quiet out here." He knew that the silence was never a good sign like this in enemy territory.

Victor kept his M4A1 at the ready as he said, "Yeah, too quiet."

Ben knew that his squad was right. The old saying, "The calm before the storm" really began to fill Ben's head with paranoia right now.

His squad kept moving through the forest, until Franko started sniffling the air and said in a hushed tone, "Wait, hold up."

Echo crouched down and aimed down their sights as Ben then said to Franko, "What you got Corporal?"

Franko kept sniffing the air as he then said, "I'm not quite sure. It smells like a whole lot of humans." Franko kept sniffing the air as he said, "…animals too."

Ben glanced at Franko quite confused, "Animals? You sure you're alright, Franko? What would animals be doing this deep in HR territory?"

Franko then looked at Ben as he said, "I don't know sir, but I know what I'm smelling."

Ben then spoke into his throat mic, "All friendly squads, this is Echo actual. Are there any friendlies west from the camp baring Northwest? One of my squad mates smells animal scents. How copy, over?"

The mic began to light up in responses.

"Echo, this is Bravo actual. Position is North East of your location. It's not us" said Bravo actual.

"Echo lead, this is Foxtrot actual. That's a negative, we are returning to base. Patrols finished" said Foxtrot lead.

All of the squads that reported in to Ben were nowhere northwest of their current position.

Ben then said to, "Roger that squad leads. Over and out."

Ben now knew that something was very wrong for Franko to be smelling the scent of animals this far in HR territory.

Ben looked at his squad and said, "Franko, you take point. We'll follow your lead. Take us to what you smell."

Franko then replied, "Can do, sir."

Echo squad followed Franko further into the forest towards the source of what Franko was smelling.

Soon, Echo came to a clearing in which their steady pace slowed to a stop as they stared dumbfounded at what they were seeing.

"What the fuck…" said Corporal Zhao, one of the newer soldiers to be assigned to Echo Squad.

Ben just stared at what was before him, unsure of what he was actually looking at.

That was when Ben said, "I'm calling the Captain."

Ben then walked a bit away from his squad as he spoke into his throat mic.

"CO, this is Echo Actual. Come in CO" said Ben into his mic.

After a few moments, Captain Walker's voice responded.

"This is the CO, what's your SitRep" said the Captain?

Ben then said, "Northwest of HQ about 7 miles into the forest. Captain, listen we…uh…we found something out here. Over."

"Echo Actual, please clarify. What did your squad find? Over" asked the Captain.

Ben then looked back at the sight before his squad as he said, "I…I don't know. We need more squads here to secure the area. You're going to want to see this sir. Over."

The other end lay silent for almost 10 seconds as Ben stood looking at the scene before him, still baffled at the sight.

Finally, the Captain responded by saying, "Echo Actual, I have two squads moving to your position. Expect my arrival with them. Over."

Ben then said, "Roger that sir. Over and out."

Ben then went back to his squad, whom were still taken aback by the sight.

After about 10 minutes, several Strykers and IFV's came rolling through the forest, following the almost unnatural looking path that cut through the foliage.

The armored units stopped at Echo's location, 2 Strykers and Two Bradly Fighting Vehicles, and the two other squads, plus Captain Walker and his two personal guards disembarked from the vehicles.

Captain Walker came towards Echo, along with the other two squads as they stopped and stared just as dumbfounded as Echo had.

The forest opened into a clearing, artificially made as the trees and foliage had been cut back as evidenced by the clearing littered with tree stumps. In the clearing was what looked like a base of some sort, although if it was a base, it was the most poorly made base possible. The perimeter fence was made out of wood and wiring and stood about 12 feet tall. There was an inner fence and an outer fence. Inside the "base" were a few structures that looked like they were poorly cobbled together from wood and thatch, resembling hovels of buildings. The only other building visible was a larger concrete structure made to look like a barracks, with another concrete building that attached to it.

In the "base" however, was what really broke the meaning of shock.

Ben knew that the CF state media was going to have a fucking field day with this one. In the base, there were humans AND animals standing next to the interior perimeter fences. Some were slumped against the wiring like they were in shock and pain. Others clung to the wire with their hands as their eyes glared back at the CF soldiers with such a stare of hopelessness and agony; it broke the hearts of some of the marines. The humans and animals were wearing what almost looked like prisoner uniforms and on the front of each human uniform on the right chest was a sword stabbing through a heart that had the HR inside the heart with an old human word that Ben knew the meaning of.

 _Proditor…_

Traitor

On the front right of each animal uniform was the same symbol, but a different word.

 _Abominationem_

Abomination

Ben stared at all of the broken and helpless faces as Captain Walker then said, "What the fuck were the rebels doing?"

"I don't know sir" said Charlie lead.

The captain then said, "Open up the camp. Let's get these poor souls out of there."

Ben then shouted, "Yes, sir."

He then motioned to the rest of the marines, "Somebody get some bolt cutters over here."

One of Charlie squad grabbed a pair of bolt cutters from the back hold of a Stryker and went over to the locked gate and struggled twice before finally cutting the old chain and key lock on the gate.

Once the gate was open, the repeated the same for the inside of the gate and entered the camp. The humans and animals in the camp reeked of sweat, waste and dirt.

Ben looked around at the sight and noticed some of the humans were malnourished, and quite significantly too. Their ribs showed through their skin and their cheeks threatened to piece out of the skin cover their cheekbones.

The animals however, were even worse.

Many of them were losing fur, scales and feathers and had bleeding sores on them.

Ben could tell that they must have suffered the brunt of the punishment here as evidenced by infected scar tissue on their skin and signs of torture.

The marines spread out as the Captain said, "Give these people and animals some help. Give them some water and MRE's."

The Captain then muttered, "What sick pathetic excuse of meat could do this to their own people…to animals."

The Captain was talking with one of the animals who was a prisoner here.

The Hawk they were talking to described this place as "the center of evil."

He went on to say that the prisoners were put here for opposing the HR's agenda against the CF and Zootopia. The animals were the unfortunate souls that couldn't leave the HR when the Prime Minister took control a few years earlier. The HR had used the animals as food, slaughtering them and eating them.

They tortured both the humans and animals, even executed many of them with firing squads and flamethrowers. They even went as sinister as to cut off body parts from children in front of their parents and force the parents to watch their child suffer before ending both parties.

However, just as cowardly as evil men can be, the guards and rebels here fled when they heard the CF was fast approaching.

Ben could feel his very soul break as he heard such travesties coming from the prisoners about such suffering.

Ben clenched his gun tightly in his hand, almost to the point of breaking his hand. He was so furious at what had been going on behind the backs of the world. A group of poor souls lost to the world as they perished in the flames of wickedness and death.

* * *

Ben separated from his squad as he went into one of the small wooden hovels.

Ben had to nearly crawl inside. When he did though…he felt like he regretted it.

Inside the hovel were two bunnies in the corner.

The adult in there was probably in her 30's, while the other bunny was a little boy, probably no older than 8. The little boy was talking to who he assumed to be his mom.

"Momma, please get up. Why are you sleeping? Please Momma, I'm scared" cried the little boy.

Ben slung his gun over his shoulder. He knew that the bunnies mother was dead, judging from her not moving and the smell of decay. The little boy however, could not understand this.

Ben walked over to the little boy, hunched over as he turned to the sound he was making.

The boy's eyes were red from tears and his white fur was matted and dirty. The little bunny then cried, "Please don't hurt me. I never did anything to anyone here." As he spoke the little girl backed into corner breathing heavily as he cowered in fear and sobbed.

This was something that made Ben feel like his whole mind broke, alas, he spoke to the bunny in a soft and caring voice.

"Hunny, it's alright. I'm not going to hurt you, I promise" he said.

Ben then said, "I'm going to set my gun down. Alright?"

The little boy made no noise, but the boy's tears kept flowing as he stared at him in fear.

Ben slowly slung the gun from over his shoulder and gently set it on the ground.

Ben then said, "I won't hurt you. What's your name kid?"

The boy sniffled as he said, "Adam."

Ben then crouched down closer to his height and said, "It's alright Adam. The mean people who were here are gone. You got nothing to be scared of anymore."

Adam wiped his eyes as he asked almost at a whisper, "Did you make the bad men go away?"

Ben didn't want to tell him 'no, they just left' since it would probably confuse him right now. Therefore, he said, "Yes, I and my friends made the bad men go away."

The little bunny sniffled happily as he walked over to Ben and put his head on his combat vest.

Ben was shocked by how easily the bunny boy trusted him.

Ben gently grabbed the bunny and pulled him in for a soft hug.

He rubbed his back softly as he said, "They won't ever come back Adam."

Adam then said looking up at him with his big Amethyst colored eyes, "Why won't mommy wake up?"

Ben knew this was a difficult situation to try to deal with involving a boy as young as Adam.

Ben pulled him in closer as he said, "Your mommy's alright. She's just sleeping, but I can tell that she wouldn't want you to be afraid."

Adam's cried slowly died down as he rubbed his back softly as he said, "She would want you to be strong and know that she still loves you very much."

Ben knew he was fabricating shit out of thin air, but it seemed to be doing the trick in calming Adam down.

Adam then asked, "What's your name, mister?"

Ben grabbed his chin with a finger and made him look up at him again as he said, "I'm Ben, Adam. It's nice to meet you."

Adam clung to Ben as he cried softly, "I want to go home Ben. I don't want to be here anymore."

Ben then whispered, "I know, kid."

Ben then said, "Come on, I'll take you some place nice and safe from here."

Adam then looked up at Ben with his big eyes again and said, "What about mommy, can she come too."

Ben felt a lump form in his throat as he had to swallow it and hold back tears as he said, "Yes, mommy can come too."

"I'll get somebody to get your mommy" Ben said.

Ben then picked up Adam slowly, to which he gasped slightly. Ben then held him in his arms, carrying and almost cradling him.

Ben then said, "Adam, can you do me a favor?"

"Yeah" he asked in his little soft voice?

"I'm going to step outside with you. I want you to look at me and only me. Don't look around and cover your ears for me. Can you do that for me?"

He sniffled as she said, "um-hum."

He did what he told him to as he took both of them outside of the hovel and back into the camp.

Ben walked swiftly back towards the Captain as Adam seemed to keep doing what Ben was saying. He started to go from clinging to Ben in fear, to clinging to him in comfort as He rested his head on his chest, keeping his eyes on him.

Ben went up to Captain Walker and said to him, "Sir, I found this boy in one of the hovels. His mother's…dead.

He whispered that last part to him.

"I need to have somebody take care of him and make sure he gets medical attention" Ben said.

For the first time in Ben's service, Ben could see Captain Walker almost at a breaking point from everything around him right now.

He then said, "Take him to one of the Strykers, I'll find a medic to take a look at him."

Ben then said, "Thank you, sir."

Ben went over to one of the Strykers still outside of the outer perimeter fence and went inside the troop hold as he sat on one of the benches in the back.

Ben then gently said, "Adam?"

Adam seemed like he was almost in some form of sleep in Ben's arms.

 _Poor kid_ Ben thought.

"Yeah, Ben" he said?

"You can look around now its fine" he said.

Adam opened his eyes as he then said, "Where are we?"

Ben then said, "We're some place safe right now. Now I have to get back to helping my friends. I'm going to leave you here for now."

Adam then started to cry as he said, "I'm scared Ben. Please don't leave me."

Ben rubbed his shoulder tenderly as he said, "I promise I won't be far away. One of my friends is going to come and take a look at you and see how you're doing. They won't hurt you alright?"

Adam kept on crying as he said, "No, I don't want you to go."

Ben then gently kissed his forehead as he said, "Hunny, I'm not going anywhere far. Nobody here will hurt you. I promise."

Adam's tears slowed as he said, "You promise?"

"I promise" he said simply.

Adam then said softly, "Okay."

Ben then laid him down on the bench as he then said, "I'll be back."

* * *

 _Poor little guy. That was all I could think as I found this little bunny, broken and beaten as his mother lay dead in one of the hovels in the camp. This was no camp…it was place of death…or suffering. How could the HR do this to such innocent people and animals?_

 _My squad later found a railroad car that was stuffed full of dead bodies, most with bullet wounds and half decayed. The marines and I did our best to bury all of the dead in individual graves, including Adam's mom. She had died from blood lose from her open sores. The souls here were branded like cattle and were treated like even below the worse possible criminals and pond scum._

 _Adam checked out fine though, according to one of our medics. He was slightly malnourished, but she believed that it was Adam's mother that kept him nourished as well as she could despite the cost to her own life. Adam had no family now, at least that could easily be assumed. I begged the Captain to allow Adam to stay safely back at a CF marine base in the CF until the war was over._

 _As much as I felt that I wasn't ready to do this, I couldn't just abandon such an innocent and broken child. I told the Captain that after this war was over, that I would find a way to adopt Adam and give him a safe and caring home back in Zootopia. I knew he would never have a normal childhood after the events he experienced, but I could do my best to try to give him one at least._

 _I could feel something inside me snap that day. I now knew I was no longer dealing with monsters. Monsters only skulk and haunt nightmares. I was dealing with evil…pure evil, and the only way to deal with pure evil was to purge it from the world. These rebels deserved no mercy, not anymore. I will show them no mercy. They will be made to bleed every drop equal to the innocent blood they have spilled since this war began. They will come to know me…the CF…and the marines._

 _Look out Prime Minster, we're coming for you. Now you get to deal with monsters, monsters you have birthed from all you have done._

* * *

 _After the liberation of the P.O.W.'s and civilians from the death camp, our division finally met up with the other divisions of our battalion. It was a long and hard road to get there as we encountered scattered resistance from the rebels, whom my squad made it especially prudent to show no mercy towards…not after what we saw at the camp._

 _Adam was sent back to Maxwell Army Base in the CF. Captain Walker had to jump through hoops and then some to ensure that he would be given residence there and be looked after until the war was over. The Captain was starting to grow impatient of me for the more than couple of favors I begged from him over the years, but he knew that my squad, under my command, got shit done and did it well. It was actually quite sad when several Chinooks arrived to airlift the tormented souls that had been in the camp out back to CF territory. Adam was still hesitant to trust most humans in my division, and who could blame him after the trauma he experienced from the human rebels. He only really trusted me, Franko and Lincoln, in my squad. When I told him that these friends of mine were here to take her and all these others some place safe, e started crying again. I assumed it was the fear of being abandoned after such an ordeal here, but this was reinforced when he ran over to me and hugged my leg, crying that he didn't want me to leave him. I knew from experience that bunnies could be so emotional from my dealings with Judy and her family. I however, knew that this was not the only problem with him right now. He genuinely felt that I and my squad could protect him and he didn't want to risk not seeing me again._

 _I got down to his height by squatting and pulled him into a hug, rubbing his back. I told him that I would be back for him, but it might take a while. I said that I promise we would see each other as soon as I could. I even told him that he would be able to live with me after the bad people are taken care of. I could hear a very faint sigh of relief mixed in with his crying as he knew I wouldn't abandon him._

 _I kissed his on the forehead again and one of the support personal for one of the Chinook grabbed him by the arm and gently lead him towards the chopper. As the helicopter took off, I sighed heavily as I knew that I now had two promises to fulfill._

 _Now my battalion was approaching the outskirts of the city after many days of fighting and trekking. However, the HR had one last surprise in store for us._

 _The Siege of Kero de Radovad was about to begin…_

* * *

The air was dusty with the dust and debris kicked up from a brewing windstorm in the arid region that the Ravager's capitol resided in. The sun was shining through partly cloudy skies as the dust impaired vision a little, but never the less allowed Ben, Echo Squad and the Battalion to be able to see through. The prior impromptu briefing that the Captain had to do along the way informed the marines that this was a joint operation between all the branches of the CF military with all hands on deck for what would surely prove to be the final blow in the war. Ben's battalion would have support from a CF attack helicopter squadron and air superiority fighters to keep the skies clear of any airborne threat that the HR would try to throw at them. Ben's battalion pushed into the city from the west, while another joint task force of the marine 68th Airborne Battalion and the Army 212th Armored Battalion would enter from the East.

Meanwhile, helicopter gunships and the armor from the marine 15th Armored Battalion would cover the outlying areas of the city, acting as back up, but also to destroy any retreating HR forces.

Ben's squad was sent into a push towards the city center. The HR was giving it everything they had to hold their last major city in the theater. The fighting broke down to street by street fighting, with many bands of rebels holding up in homes, shops and public buildings. Ben was horrified to actually see his worst fear realized as his squad pushed towards the city center towards the Ministry building.

Ben and his squad were moving down a main road in the city center, cars lay abandoned and buildings stood empty as most of the civilian population evacuated the city. The road was a commercial area full of shops and restaurants, all abandoned and looted during the evacuation. Echo made their way further down the street, heads on a swivel as they grew ever closer to their final objective…the Ministry building. Explosions echoed in the distance and gunfire rang out in the air of the city as the harbingers of war descended with hungry eyes and intentions upon the city.

"Hey, soldiers!" yelled a voice.

Ben and his squad ducked behind a few cars for cover, prepared for an enemy attack. However, no attack came.

The voice then called out again and Ben was able to tell it was a much older male voice.

"You guys in the street. We're in the florist across the street from you. We're coming out. We surrender" said the voice.

Ben didn't like this as this could have very easily been an enemy ruse. However, Ben then shouted, "Come out with your hands behind your head and kneel on the ground. I won't ask twice."

Ben was ready to have his squad shoot the rebels that were surrendering to them, based on the pure absence of mercy they deserved.

Suddenly and slowly, an old man in his 70's came out from the building doing as Ben was saying as the man said, "Please don't shoot. You can do whatever with me if you just let the children go."

Ben's squad looked at each other quite puzzled as Bill then said, "What children?"

The man gazed down at the ground and started to speak in an uneasy voice, "The children I'm supposed to send to their deaths."

Ben then said, "You're supposed to kill children? Then why shouldn't we kill you?"

He man became very panicked and said, "No, I mean yes. I mean, no I don't want to kill them."

Ben then said, "Explain."

The old man then said, "The numbers of our forces have dwindled to almost nothing and the Prime Minister left up most of the defense of the city to the hands of retired officers and children. I was supposed to defend this block with our lives and send these innocent kids to their deaths. Please, if you're going to kill anyone, kill me. Just let the children go."

Ben then stood up with his gun aimed at the man, as did some of his other squad as he said, "Where are these kids you're speaking of? I promise me and my squad won't hurt anyone, but I need to see proof first."

The man then called back towards the floral shop, "kids, come on out. It's alright."

To the shock of everyone in Echo, 12 kids, boys and girls, came out of the shop carrying pistols in their hands. Most of the kids seemed like they were in shock and were about to suffer a complete break.

 _Fucking child soldiers_ Ben thought with a growl to himself. The fucking castrated balls that it takes to use a child as a weapon.

Ben then saw some of the kids start to cry as Ben's squad was aiming their guns in their general direction. Ben was processing the whole situation and his mind was buzzing with different emotions like a hornets nest.

Ben sighed heavily and said, "Squad, stand down."

"But…" began Jackson, a new recruit.

Ben then said sternly, "I said stand down. They're kids for fuck sake."

Ben and his squad slowly lowered their weapons as Ben then looked at the man and said, "You know, I got a bone to pick…or rather break…with the HR. I saw that your fucking rebels did to innocent people and animals in a death camp. I saw the very evil that man is capable of and for that I will make every HR bleed until the weight in blood has paid the blood of those innocents spilled. I should slaughter you like the scum you are right here, right now."

The man was sweating bullets as he was almost begging Ben for mercy.

Ben then said, "However…"

This made the man hold his breath as Ben continued speaking.

"You risked your life surrendering not to save yourself, but to save the lives of these kids who should have never even been a part of this war to begin with. That takes courage risking yourself like that and for the mercy you have shown these kids, I'm giving you the chance to get yourselves out of here" Ben said.

The man smiled and said, "Oh, thank you sir. Thank you."

Ben then said, "Leave your guns here and make your way towards the city limits. I'll let my superiors know that I found a bunch of unarmed civilians, mostly children, who need to be taken to safety."

The man smiled and spoke, "Oh, thank you. I can't show my gratitude enough for what you're doing for these children."

Ben then said, "If anyone askes, this conversation never happened and you and these kids failed to get out of the city in time before the siege."

The man nodded and said, "Come on kids, follow me."

The group went off in a sprint down the street as Ben the radioed Captain Walker to let him know what was going on.

Captain Walker was suspicious of the story that Ben presented, what with reports of groups of child soldiers attack other CF forces in the city. However, the Captain didn't press further and promised that the group Ben described would find passage to safety.

Ben and his squad kept their march towards the Ministry building as the fighting got more and more intense throughout the city.

Ben and his squad eventually got to the capitol building which was a white marble colonial looking structure that was guarded like a compound.

The perimeter of the building was surrounded by chain-link fencing and barbed wire and concrete pillboxes. The thing that scared Ben was that there was absolutely no guard detail around the structure. Ben assumed that it was because the HR leader and his guard had fled the city and took shelter in a bunker somewhere.

Ben spoke to his squad softly, "Echo, let's get into that building. Advance across the street and give each other overwatch."

Ben took point as his squad moved up from position to position, covering one another and keeping their eyes on the ministry building and the nearby area.

Finally, Ben's squad reached the fence, which Ben took his gun by the barrel and slammed the stock on the padlock with the stock until the lock broke, which was easier than he expected it to be.

He then motioned his squad through the gate as he took point up the stairs towards the Capitol building.

Once the whole of Echo reached the door, Ben and his squad breached the door with a frag and clear. Once the grenade was thrown in and the explosion went off, blowing out the outside windows, Victor kicked the door in as his squad entered the building.

The structure was bigger inside than it was outside, with an older 19th century feeling inside from the furnishings and décor. Ben and his squad cleared the building room by room, waiting to find the Prime Minster behind a door in a piss soaked cower corner. Every room was checked until they finally made it towards the last door, which was the most elegant with gold trimming…the Ministers office.

Ben nodded to Franko on the other side of the doorframe who then nodded back and kicked the door in.

Echo breached the doorway and into the office where the office lay barren aside from the furniture and a radio that lay on the desk which was playing static right now.

Echo searched the room until a voice came up over the radio and scared the fuck out of Echo from the suddenness of it. Ben even spun around and almost shot the radio thinking it was actually a person behind him speaking.

 _"Well, well, well. It seems that the animal hugging traitors have finally made their way to my office. I hate to disappoint you all, but I'm sadly very far away by now in my emergency bunker. I guess your little campaign to take MY land from the RIGHTFUL part of humanity must have been going quite well if you've made it this far. Alas, this is where it will all end" s_ aid the voice over the radio.

Ben knew this was the Prime Minster.

 _"History is a funny thing you know. It's always the victor that gets the spoils…I however argue that the real winners are those who change the world and those that don't just win. It's been all going according to plan."_

"What plan?" spoke Ben darkly? "Your republic is in ruins and your capitol will be ours in a matter of hours. What could you have left?"

The Prime Minster chuckled sinisterly and said, " _Oh, so much more than you could fathom right now. It was never about winning. It was about changing the world…and forcing humanity to a new era where all filthy abominations from 'Zootopia' will bow down before our rule."_

"For the best way to destroy a more powerful enemy is not from the front…but from within" he said.

"The Humanist Republic isn't just a power…it's a movement, an ideology. One that will never die out. Even in the death of the motherland, the children will carry on in her place."

He then laughed and said, "As I speak, you're thinking about telling your superiors about all this… and about trying to find me. But you know the old saying…"

"Dead men tell no tales."

Now I must bid you all ado. It's been EXPLOSIVE fun."

He laughed darkly as Ben then finally had it click in his head after hearing the minister laughing.

"BOMB" he yelled! "Get out. Ge…"

Then a huge explosion wracked the building as Ben and most of his squad was flung through the glass windows by the explosive force. The two story fall greeted Ben and those of Echo blown outside the window with a cold, hard smack as Ben felt himself hit his head on the ground. Dazed, Ben slowly drifted into unconsciousness as he heard muffled screams around him and crackling fire.

When consciousness returned to Ben, his eyes were still closed, but he could hear muffled bangs in the background and could hear screams and voices, both familiar and unfamiliar. Ben opened his eyes slowly as he had hazy vision at the first few seconds of light entering his eyes. He felt like he got mauled by the Incredible Hulk right now. Ben saw that he was slumped against some piece of concrete and he could see several of his squadmates popping out of cover to fire at an unknown enemy, their voices still muffled and barely audible to him. Ben looked in front of him and his heart sank into his stomach.

Lying on the ground in front of him were members of his squad. Those that hadn't been thrown out of the exploding building were burned alive inside the raging fiery ruin of the Ministry building, and those that got thrown out, six of them, were in varying conditions.

Franko and Lincoln were on the ground, charred and with blood flowing out of freshly created bullet wounds…unmoving and lifeless. Victor was a further ways away and suffered amputation of his right arm and right leg from the explosion and the shrapnel, barely moving in a puddle of his own blood, screams of agony muffled by Ben's still ringing ears.

Bill was alive, but with cuts and bruises as he had his M249 SAW deployed with his bipod on a piece of debris for cover as he fired off constant barrages of bullets out of Ben's sight. Jackson was still alive, though he had minor burns and cuts on his face and arms as he was firing his FAMAS out of Ben's sight.

Bill glanced over and Ben's hearing was returning slightly, so he was able to hear, "The Sarge is alive."

Ben groaned as he tried to stand up, only for Bill to yell, "Stay down, sir. Enemy forces are attack in mass. Estimate 100 tangos."

Ben didn't fully understand him until bullets flew past him with whizzing noises and struck other cover around them. Ben grabbed his AK-12 and made sure the safety was off before taking cover properly, still shaken up and glancing over the concrete barrier to see a whole horde of Ravagers approaching the remnants of Echo. Ben knew that they were in a last stand situation, so Ben got back down behind cover and yelled into his throat mic, hoping it still worked, "Mayday, Mayday, Mayday. This is Echo squad within the HR capitol city in the city center near ministry building. I have multiple men KIAed and estimated 100 hostiles attacking our position. Line cannot hold much longer. I say again, line can't hold much longer. Any friendly forces in the area respond, mayday."

Ben waited for an answer to hear, "Echo squad, this is Delta squad responding to your mayday and we are enroute to your position."

"Echo, this is Challenger 45, callsign 'Grinder'. We are responding to your mayday and are bringing friendly armor to assist."

Ben then shouted, "We'll hold as best as we can. Over and out."

Ben then took cover again and started to fire his AK-12 at the enemy rebels as they kept pushing forwards towards Echo's position. These rebels seemed to be more trained than the others as they were using covering fire and suppression to keep Echo pinned between most of the movements.

Ben fired off the last three bullets, killing a Ravager. Ben ejected the magazine as he looked over to his left to hear a deep impact noise and heard Bill scream.

"Gah, I'm hit" he said.

The bullet had gone right into his right shoulder as Bill struggled to maintain his firing position.

Ben shouted to Bill, "Soldier, how bad?"

Bill then said, "I'll fight through it."

Ben then yelled, "Hold the line men. Reinforcements are on their way. Give them everything you got."

The fighting kept on going until Bill said, "Sir, three tangos pushing up right…"

Bill stopped there as a bullet pierced through Bill's neck as he dropped the gun, gagging and choking as blood flowed out. He stumbled back before a bullet hit him in the head and sent him to the ground…dead.

"FUCK" yelled Ben. In the span of only an hour, Ben had lost most of his squad and was unable to help protect them from the bomb sooner as well as protect Lincoln and Franko when he was knocked out. Ben could feel his will trying to snap as he wanted to scream out of anger and torment about all that was going on.

Ben yelled to Jackson, "Jackson, hold your ground."

Jackson replied, "I'm not going down that easily sir."

Ben glanced at Jackson and then did a double take as he saw something running at him from the side, a human form.

Ben then shouted, "Jackson, right flank."

Jackson tried to spin to shoot the target, but the rebel impaled him in the chest with his bayonet and then fired a bullet into Jackson's chest.

The rebel then pulled out the bayonet and kicked Jackson down.

"Jackson" yelled Ben as he whipped out his sidearm and fired off six shots into the Ravager now charging at him. The six bullets found their mark in his chest, killing him.

Ben slumped to the ground as bullets ricocheted around him as Ben started crying, knowing this was it. This was THE last stand for his squad.

 _My squad…_ he thought.

Ben remembered every face of his squad over the years. All of the jokes and laughter. All of the pain and sorrow that they had shared.

Ben gripped his gun as he cried softly at the thought.

Ben's mind flashed to little Adam, back in the hovel…so frightened and alone, cold and lost. Ben remembered how broken the little bunny boy was when Ben found him and how he wanted and even told Adam he could live with him…to try to give him a normal life, to protect him.

Ben's grip on his gun tightened even more as his cries started to grow deeper as if some shadowy figure was trying to well up in Ben's very soul right now.

His parents…oh how they worried about him every night. Ben would call them every chance he would get back at Base. They would chat and tell each other that they loved each other dearly.

Ben's deep crying was now turning into growling as his eyes squinted as hard as they could and he trembled not out of fear, but anger.

Judy…her family. The same family that accepted him as almost like one of their own. Ben remembered what the Ravagers did to the animals in the camp…slaughtering and eating them like fucking fish. Ben thought back to his final moments in the Hopps house with Judy; how she agreed to keep her promise to always have hope in his return. That the hope would carry him home. Even the kiss she gave him. Ben thought about so many promises he had to them…all those he wanted to save and protect. His mind flashed from image to image as if a slide show on hyper speed. Ben then let out a loud scream of anger and rage as he couldn't take it anymore.

Ben then inhaled and exhaled, finally opening his eyes. His eyes, which used to bear a degree of innocence and hope in them were now empty and void of anything except three things.

 _Fight_ …

Ben loaded a magazine into his AK-12 and turned on the laser sight.

 _Kill…_

Ben then pulled out his FiveSeven in his other hand and turned on the laser sight as well.

 _…Protect…_

Ben then whipped out of cover as the bullets seemed to fly around Ben as if the very weapons of war submitted to Ben's will. Almost as if the very weapons of war found the one true thing they feared.

Ben then stood with guns aimed at the horde as they came ever closer as he only had one thing to say to them.

Ben let out a primal scream as it all blacked out for him…the world becoming hazy, but not fading. The world almost seemed to flow around Ben as all he could hear was now not a primal scream…

…but the cry of the warrior.

* * *

Delta squad and the armored unit under the callsign 'Grinder' were barreling through the city as fast as they could, trying to stick to mostly cleared blocks as they made their way towards Echo's last reported location.

It only took them about five more minutes before they rounded the block that took main street down to the now flaming ruins of the Ministry building. There they arrived in front of the building to see that at least a 100 bodies of Ravagers littered the area, many with bullet wounds in the head or chest…some of those only in the head or chest.

Delta squad combed the area to find any sign of Echo, when they noticed a figure squirming up ahead…seemingly trapped by something.

Delta squad approached the figure guns aimed and then they saw the figure to be an HR "officer" who was hanging from a downed wire of some kind as another figure was rapidly stabbing it in the chest, abdomen, and neck with its K-Bar knife.

The officer breathed his last dying breath as blood flowed out of him like a waterfall onto the ground. The figure turned to Delta squad, front half covered in blood, and most of it not his own.

It was Ben. He had only a few grazing wounds and cuts on him and his face…

The squad froze when they saw his face.

It was devoid of any emotion, other than one...the anger that emanated from his body was refined and focused, yet powerful and brutal.

Ben stood there almost as if relishing in what he had caused before him as this marked a new day in Ben's life.

Gone were the days of the old Ben. True, he still felt emotion inside for those that he cared about and cared for. However, it was now as if there was another soul in the vessel that was Ben.

Ben was now the form of two souls…the old Ben, and the new Ben.

The reaper of evil and the protector of the innocent.

* * *

 _The siege of the HR's capitol lasted only for 11 hours, but finally the flag was raised over the capitol...the flag of the CF. We thought the war was over, until the HR kept on launching attacks from their last remaining cities. It turned out that our military thought that we had cleared out and conquered all of the HR's cities, but deep inside the heart of the HR, several cities remained untouched in valley's and mountain ranges. It was from here that we took the last effort of the war to try to end the last sites of production and shelter for the HR._

 _The two biggest of these cities, Korvok and Grenley, were targeted by nuclear attacks from the CF. Nukes were the last option the Brass wanted to use, but the route to fight up to the mountains and through the passes to the valleys would have only added to the hundreds of CF soldiers that have already died. The possibility of ambushes and booby-traps were too great to risk any more bloodshed form our people._

 _Within hours of the two bombings, the HR government surrendered, and even gave up the location of the Prime Ministers bunker. That fat fuck was now being taken back to the CF under close escort to pay for his war crimes._

 _I on the other hand, well, I wasn't doing great knowing that I lost all of my squad and Echo would have to built back up once again. However, I soon got an opportunity that I would have never expected from somebody higher up the chain of command than Captain Walker...General Matz, the CF's general in charge of our special tasks group...Alpha Force._

* * *

 ** _This was probably the longest chapter ever, I have one come up with an appropriate order count, well I thank my co-authors, as always, reviews and welcome the constructive criticism. anyways see us lafter and now the plot for he film will continue in the future chapters._**


	5. Chapter 5

**Well Here it is, the next chapyer, i apolgoze for the long wait, me and my co-authors shoukd come up with a steady update dates, but due to college well you guys should understand.**

* * *

Chapter 5: The Demons that Haunt the Soul

 _One day I'll face the Hell inside me_  
 _Someday I'll accept what I have done_  
 _Sometime I'll leave the past behind me_  
 _For now I accept who I've become_  
 _And now I see clearly_

 _~I Apologize - Five Finger Death Punch_

 _ **Two years…**_

 _ **Two damn years it took for the CFM to finally claim victory over the savage monsters of the HR. Two years, we fought. Two years, we bleed. Two years, we died. In the end, what remained of the HR was annexed back into the CF under very strict marshal law. At first, our forces gained stable control over the former HR lands and what was left of the people there. It seemed over at first, but the effects of war had taken their toll on the region. Before we knew it, famine had finally caught up with the region, along with disease and homelessness as those who fled the HR when the Prime Minister had taken over returned to find the neighborhoods they once knew to be devastated and their homes lost to war. However, even with all the devastation of the region, the CF had tried to pump money, materials and resources into the region to re-stabilize it. However, the Prime Ministers words came back to haunt the rest of the world, even after the war was over, and little did we know what would happen.**_

 _ **At first, the former HR citizens who had sworn allegiance to the Prime Minister began to protest our "occupation" of the region. A few protests here and a riot there soon evolved into the growth of pro-humanist militant and terror cells. It was soon that we found our military engaged in skirmish operations with the militant groups in the annexed HR territories, with the pro-humanist terror cells launching operations against the CF and, to a lesser degree, Zootopia. Though the war had ended, a new conflict began…and we soon found out what the Prime Minister had said to me and my squad all those years ago meant, and he was right…**_

 _ **You can't kill an ideology, but you can most certainly try.**_

 _ **Five years had passed since victory was declared over the HR and I felt as if my life was turned upside down…my world twisted as if I was looking in a fun house mirror. I've been a part of Alpha Force now for four years, running special ops missions with a small team in the annexed HR territories. What's more is that it's been five years since the war ended and I never returned back home to BunnyBurrow.**_

 _ **I mean, how could I...?**_

 _ **Ever since the day I lost my squad, I could feel that something in me changed that day. I felt it down to my very bones, as if I had become a meat puppet controlled by the demons that have followed me to this day. Every kill I made, every drop of blood spilled, I relished in the sight of it. Every scream of mercy and agony that the enemy made as I pried the life from their body, the sounds came together as a melody to my ears. I made every kill and completed every operation with pleasure knowing that I was protecting those that were vulnerable and those who were innocent.**_

 _ **If I was doing this nobly, then why did I feel like a monster?**_

 _ **Every day, I would wake up. My first thoughts weren't about what I would eat for breakfast or what I would accomplish today.**_

 _ **It was who I would kill today. Then my second bout of thoughts was usually about who I would kill for.**_

 _ **I was reminded every morning one of the most special things in my life I fought for, and today was no less…**_

* * *

It was around 8 o' clock in the morning in the city of Karlston. The sun had just started to crest over the horizon sending the brilliance of the early morning sun reflecting off of the mirror like glass windows of the skyscrapers downtown. The city of Karlston was buzzing with traffic and pedestrians as everyone, human and animal, made their way to work or to run errands. A gentle wind wound its way through the city this morning.

Meanwhile, in an average looking apartment building on the outskirts of the downtown area, a 27 year old man was currently asleep in his bed, trying to enjoy the start of his month's leave he had from the service, as he would have to report back to his CO at the end of May. In the meanwhile, this man was determined to enjoy the time he had.

This man was none other than Ben.

Ben was snoring lightly as his body was half uncovered, right arm draped over his forehead. He was asleep with no shirt on as he usually did so when he slept. Ben's strong, muscular build was evident as the upper portion of his six pack and his pecks were visible.

Suddenly, the door to the bedroom opened very quietly. The door slowly swung open as a white paw gripped the doorknob. The head of a white rabbit stuck itself in through the doorway as his ears stood straight up to hear if Ben was still sleeping.

The bunny noticed that Ben was still asleep and silently crept into the room, a mischievous smirk on his muzzle as he crept closer to Ben.

Meanwhile, Ben's eyes under his arm shot open upon sensing another being in the room with him. Ben knew who the being was, or in this case, who the bunny was.

The white rabbit was now next to Ben's bed and crouched down slightly as if ready to pounce.

The bunny leapt into the air as he shouted, "Hey, Dad!"

Ben snapped up and grabbed the bunny midflight and flung him over onto the Bed as Ben began to roughhouse with his adopted son.

Ben started to tickle Adam as he play fought with him on the bed. Adam was laughing and giggling through the tickling and the stimuli as Ben then said, "I got you now Adam" as he tickled his son's stomach.

Adam was rolling around laughing as he said, "Dad…please stop. I can't take it anymore."

Ben's heart melted every time he heard Adam call him 'Dad'. Ben loved his son very much, and treated him as one of the most important beings in Ben's life. Ben was quite surprised at how well the two of them bonded over the years, as well as how Adam had been growing up under Ben's care, despite the entire trauma the rabbit faced five years earlier.

Adam still had issues from time to time. Even now, Adam would still have nightmares about the death camp five years earlier. Adam also suffered from panic attacks from certain triggers, as well as PTSD. However, Ben had found the best child phycologist in Karlston for Adam to help him with all of the issues that the bunny experienced.

Sometimes, Adam's nightmares were so bad that Ben would have to let the rabbit sleep with him for the rest of the night, which never bothered Ben in the slightest.

Ben kept tickling Adam as he said with a smirk, "Got to be better at surprising me, Adam."

Adam was giggling as he said through laughs, "Dad, please. I'm going to pee myself."

Ben stopped tickling and roughhousing with his son as the bunny laid there next to Ben, gasping and giggling slightly as his chest raised and fell quickly.

After a while, the white rabbit sighed and said, "How did you hear me?"

Ben chuckled and said, "Son, I'm a special forces operative. There isn't much of anything that can catch me off guard."

Adam gazed his eyes over at his dad as he then said in a mock whining voice, "Well, it's not fair. I wanted to surprise you."

Ben ruffled the fur on his son's head as he said, "You never asked for fair, Adam."

Adam then sat up in bed as he then sat cross legged on the comforter as he then said, "But I didn't ask at all."

Ben smirked and said, "Exactly."

Adam hopped off the bed and Ben stood up from the bed as he stretched his body out of instinct as he didn't really need it after the ambush his son had tried to do.

Ben then put on a white T-shirt as he then said to his son, "So what's got you up so early on a Saturday. I normally don't see you up and at 'em until like 10."

Ben then gave Adam a worried expression and asked, "It's not another nightmare was it?"

Adam shook his head and said, "No, I just was wondering if we could do something today?"

Ben then sat in a beige arm chair in the bedroom as he slipped on socks, replying, "What did you have in mind?"

A smile grew on Adam's muzzle as he then spoke as he bounced slightly in place with energy, "Well, I was wondering if we could go to the aquarium today."

Ben gave his son an 'I don't know' look for about 10 seconds as Adam was waiting eagerly for a response.

"Please Dad" Adam said as he put on his best begging face, complete with the big eyes.

Ben then smiled and said slyly, "Well, if that's what you want to do today, then okay. We'll go."

Adam bounced around happily as he said, "Oh thank you Dad. Thank you."

Ben discovered about four years ago that Adam had a passion for science, and was especially interested in the ocean and sea life. He even told Ben that he wanted to study fish and the ocean when he was grown up.

Ben laughed slightly at his son's energy and said, "Okay, slow it down Mr. Happy Bunny. Let's get something to eat first."

Adam walked out of the room as Ben followed him as Adam asked, "Can we have waffles Dad?"

Ben smirked and said, "I was just thinking the same thing."

Breakfast was always a little…different for Ben since Adam came into his life. Ben tried to not eat meat in front of his son, not only because his son was a Prey, but because of the horrors that the HR put the animals through in that cursed camp. Ben's mind flashed back to hearing about the HR there killing, cooking and eating the animals there. It made Ben's fists tighten until they cracked as he started to think that they could have done that to his now adopted son if things hadn't happened the way they did sooner.

Ben stopped in the middle of the short hallway that led to Adams bedroom and the master bedroom as Ben's mind drifted deeper into the horrible images of what Ben remembered at the camp.

Adam was still walking down the hallway and glanced behind him to see if his Dad was still following him, but then did a double take upon seeing his Dad just standing there.

Adam stopped and turned and slowly approached Ben as he said with a small amount of fear in his voice, "Dad, you alright?"

Ben's mind was snapped out of his thoughts when he felt a furry paw grab his arm and tug lightly. Ben snapped back to reality as he blinked rapidly and looked around, almost as if unaware of his surroundings.

Ben then looked down at the bunny next to him as Adam was staring at his Dad with a world worth of concern.

Ben then said, "Uh, yeah…I'm fine Adam." Ben then paused for a few moments as he then said, "I'll go get breakfast started."

Ben grabbed his sons shoulder lightly and patted him on the back, as if to tell him that he was fine.

Adam hesitantly walked into the kitchen with his Dad, as he was unsure of what was wrong before.

Adam knew that his Dad had moments where he would drift off into a trance like state. This would always scare Adam as whenever it happened, Adam could always see that his Dad's kind, caring and protective nature was replaced by someone who was cold, angry and…aggressive. Adam never told Ben about that as a small part of him was scared that this dark side of Ben would hurt him. Adam knew that his Dad would never lay a finger on him out of anger or to inflict harm to him, but the unknown always seemed very scary for Adam.

Ben went to the cupboards and the fridge and started to pull out the ingredients for their waffles. Ben was making their favorite kind, blueberry waffles. As Ben was mixing the ingredients in a bowl, Adam was sitting at the table swinging his legs gently back and forth as he was sipping from a glass of apple juice.

Adam was silent as he had a thought that seemed to be unable to escape his mind right now. Adam took another sip from his glass as he thought back to something that he experienced last evening.

(Flashback)

Adam woke up from bed at around 12 a.m., having only gone to bed at 10:30. Adam got out of bed to go use the restroom that was at the far end of the hallway towards the living room. Adam groggily walked towards the bathroom in his yellow PJ's with carrots on them. As he reached to open the door, Adams right ear shot up as he heard a sound that made him very uncomfortable…

Crying…

It wasn't very loud, but he could hear light crying, and it was his Dad's voice and tone.

Adam crept slowly towards the corner of the hall that led into their living room. Adam stuck his head around the corner and saw that his Dad was sitting on the couch, sullen and looking towards the ground. Tears gently rolled down his cheeks as Ben was fondly rubbing some type of picture with his thumb.

Adam was really concerned now for his Dad as Adam was catching everything said due to his great hearing.

"I wish things could be different between us" said Ben through soft sobs. "But how can I come back when all you'll see is a monster."

Ben rubbed the picture again as Ben then said, "I never got to tell you, and…I ma…may not be able to now."

"Would you see me for who I was, or who I am now" asked Ben rhetorically?

The picture that Ben was stroking fondly was one of the few pictures he still had of him and his best friend, Judy.

It was a picture from the last time she and Ben went to a Carrot Days festival, about 2 years before Ben shipped out for the war. Judy and Ben were eating funnel cakes together, sitting on a bale of hay with a white fence behind them. Ben remembered that it was one of Judy's brothers that took the picture without them realizing until the camera flashed. Apparently, he was going to use it to tease his sister that she had a 'boyfriend'. It was not a fun experience for her brother, Oliver. Ben chuckled through the tears as he remembered the squabble that she went through with her brother to get the photo away from him, saying she was going to keep it because he had no right to taunt her.

Ben set the now framed photo down on the couch as he looked up towards Adam, who whipped back around the corner out of fear of eavesdropping on his Dad.

After a few moments, Ben calmed himself down and wiped the tears from his face and said, "It's alright Adam. I know your there."

Slowly, a very cautious bunny came around the corner as Ben then said, "I thought you went to bed over an hour ago Adam, what's wrong?"

Adam's ears were completely behind his back as the bunny then stood there with concern and said, "I got up to go to the bathroom and I heard crying. You alright, Dad?"

Ben let out a sigh and said, "…Yeah, I'm okay, just something from my past. It's nothing to worry about, son."

Adam came walking into the room as he then said, "You want to talk about it Dad?"

Ben looked down at the carpet and sighed again and said, "It's more complicated than you'd understand. It's a grown-up thing."

Adam at this point came over to his dad and hoped up on the couch and sat down next to Ben. He then leaned his body onto Ben and hugged his Dad.

Ben comfortingly put a hand around his son's back and pulled the bunny into a gentle hug. Adam then said, "Why wouldn't I understand it?"

Ben then looked at his son as his eyes were slightly red from crying as he said, "It's just too hard."

Adam could tell that his Dad was on the cusp of crying again as Adam sniffled slightly over his Dad's emotions.

Ben rubbed his son's back tenderly and said, "What's wrong, Adam?"

Adam nuzzled his face into his Dad's side as he said, "I don't like to see you upset Dad. It makes me upset too."

Ben leaned over and kissed his son on the forehead as he said, "It'll be fine Adam. I'm just missing someone is all."

Adam looked over on the other side of his Dad and saw the picture and noticed a human that looked like his Dad, only younger, along with a grey and white girl rabbit. Adam never saw this picture before, but he then asked his Dad, "Dad, who's the bunny in that picture?"

Ben then breathed in and said, "That's an old friend of mine I haven't seen in years."

"Can I meet her one day" asked Adam as he looked up at his Dad?"

Ben kissed his son again as he said, "I'm honestly not sure, hunny."

Ben rarely called his son "hunny", and Adam knew that too. Still, Ben only did this when he was trying to hide something from his son or to protect him.

Adam yawned as he felt tired again. Ben then noticed this as he said, "Its almost 12:30 now, you need to go back to bed."

Ben stood up and picked Adam up in his arms and cradled him as the bunny was now near half asleep again. Ben took Adam back to Adam's room and tucked him in again. As he was walking out of the room, Adam then said, "I love you, Dad."

Ben paused in the doorway and looked back at his son as he then said, "I love you too."

(End Flashback)

Adam then spoke to his Dad and said, "Dad, if you miss your friend so much, then why don't you go visit her?"

Ben stopped in the middle of putting the batter in the waffle maker as he then paused for a few moments as he then said, "Because people change Adam, and I'm afraid that I've changed too much."

Adam then said, "Why are you af-"

Ben then slammed the bowl on the counter with a bang as Adam immediately shut his mouth and he sunk into his seat. Very rarely did his Dad act this way and it scared him.

Ben then breathed out a sigh and said, "Son, can we please just stop talking about this. I'm not mad at you, you know I love you. It's just that I'd rather we talk about something else."

Adam then said, "Okay, Dad."

* * *

 _ **The rest of the morning went by quite normally as me and my son ate our breakfast and got set to head out to the aquarium. Being in Pangea, people were quite open to interspecies relationships, but we still got a few curious looks as both the humans and animals here could tell quite easily that Adam was a bunny and not a bunny/human hybrid. Today was no exception as I swear people were thinking that I was walking towards my parked car, my old Dodge Charger, with someone else's child.**_

 _ **Once we got to the aquarium, Adams eyes lit up at all of the tanks for the fish, as well as all of the various sea creatures. We both had quite a good time, especially with visiting the shark tanks. Adam thought that sharks were the coolest fish out there. I had to agree in that they were pretty cool too.**_

 _ **On our way home after spending nearly three hours at the aquarium, I told Adam that I needed to stop at Nelson Marine base, where my former CO was. Adam immediately asked if I was going to go back to work and if that would mean that he would stay on the military base while I was gone. His eyes were tearing up as he thought I was going to leave him for another whole ten and a half months.**_

 _ **I knew this was no way to raise a kid, especially one who had been inflicted so much trauma, but as soon as the war had ended, Captain Walker had asked little Adam if he wanted to stay with me and be my son. Oh man, the look on that kids face would have made even the blackest of hearts shed a tear as Adam clung to my leg and said, "I don't want to be alone. I want to stay with Ben. He's nice and he can take good care of me." All the while, little Adam was shedding tears over the prospect of being abandoned, which wouldn't have happened either way, but to him, he thought of me as his hero.**_

 _ **I ruffled Adams head fur as I said, "No, just got to ask an old friend a question. Trust me; we're going to have a great time these next couple of weeks."**_

 _ **Adams face lit up when I said that. Man, bunnies are so emotional.**_

 _ **Once I arrived at the base, I soon would find out that this one conversation would change my life forever…and for the better.**_

* * *

"I always hate coming here" said Adam as he stared out the passenger window of Charger.

Ben drove down the dirt road that started on the outskirts of the city and went about a half of a mile towards the Marine base.

Ben looked back at Adam as he saw military buildings and vehicles driving around on the other side of an electrified barbed wire fence.

Ben then asked, "Why's that?"

Adam then looked over towards Ben and said, "Because I spend almost a year here when you're gone. It gets lonely and boring here."

Ben then asked rather shocked, "Why do you think it's boring and lonely?"

As the two of them were taking, Ben drove the Charger up towards the security gate and presented his dog tags, ID and serial number to the MP at the gate.

The guard then saluted Ben and said, "Welcome back to base, Captain."

"Because there's nobody here who's my age, and I have nobody to play with" said Adam as he looked up at Ben.

The gate opened up and Ben drove the car in the compound and parked it immediately by the gate, near two HUMVEE's. Ben and Adam hopped out of the car as they walked towards an administration building in the center of the base. Gunfire could be heard from the firing range and armored vehicles were being worked on in a nearby garage. Soldiers were buzzing about the base as a few were running a training course under the constant barrage of insults and egging by a heavy set monitor lizard who looked like he could snap an arm in half.

Ben noticed that Adam was getting a lot better at being able to handle the sound of gunfire since he started staying on the base for the bigger part of the last five years. He used to cringe and cower, holding onto my legs when someone shot a gun around him. Now, he was pretty much unphased by it, though he did say that it hurt his ears at times.

Ben and Adam entered the base's admin center and Ben immediately asked one of the MP's standing guard in the facility to keep an eye on Adam. Adam quietly groaned as he just didn't like being here at all, but then he asked his Dad, "How long are you going to be, Dad?"

Ben rubbed his son's shoulder as he said, "Not long, maybe 15 minutes. I'll be back as soon as I can."

The MP, a Hispanic male MP, said to Adam, "Come on son, are you hungry? I can take you to get something from the mess hall before the Cap…I mean your dad gets back."

Adam then said plainly, "Okay."

This really isn't the right way to raise a child Ben thought.

Ben then took the path through the admin building to get to the office that his former CO was using. After several hallways and several familiar non-officer personal saluting Ben as he walked by, he finally got to the room he was looking for. On the door, there was a sign that read:

Colonel J. Walker

Ben knocked on the door, with his action soon followed by the response of "Enter".

Ben opened the door and stepped into the office as his former CO was going through debriefings from some operation. The colonel looked through the page he was currently on and set down the file and looked up. Upon seeing Ben, the Colonel smirked and said, "Captain Richardson."

Ben saluted his superior and said, "Colonel Walker."

Walker motioned to an empty chair in front of the desk and said, "Have a seat, son. What do I owe the pleasure of a visit from a former squad leader from my division?"

"Sir, I needed to ask you something" said Ben as he sat down in the chair on the opposite side of Walker's desk.

Walker leaned forward slightly and put his hands together as his fingers locked, and said, "You want permission to speak freely I take it?"

Ben nodded and said, "Yes, sir."

Walker shrugged slightly with his smirk and said, "Granted, now what's on your mind Richardson?"

Ben sighed and said, "I've been dealing with some problems as of late, and I don't know what I should do."

Walker nodded and said, "Go on."

Ben then said, "It's about something from my past sir. You see, before I joined the marines and fought in the great Pangean Civil War, I used to live in Zootopia. I actually was from BunnyBurrow believe it or not. When I was there, there was this bunny that was my best friend. She and I knew each other for nearly a decade and remained close friends with each other. We were inseparable."

Walker then said, "I think I know where this is going Captain, but keep going."

"Well, I promised my best friend the night before my unit was shipped out that I would come back home when the war was over. I told her that as long as she kept hope of my return, one day that hope would help carry me home." Ben slouched forwards in his seat a bit as he then said, "Sir, that was five years ago and I have yet to return to BunnyBurrow. I don't even know if she knows I'm alive anymore. These last five years were hard on me. Not a day go's by when I don't find myself thinking about her. I've been able to suppress the memories when I go into battle, but I'm afraid that my dwelling on this will get to the point where I'm going to fuck up on the battlefield and people and animals will die from it."

Ben then sighed and said, "It's even getting to my son now. I have to keep explaining to him that I'll be fine and that it's all a part of my past. Only I don't want it to be a part of past. I don't want these demons to haunt me anymore."

Walker then said, "You want to go back to Zootopia to find your old friend, don't you?"

Ben nodded, and then he added, "That, and I wanted to tell her something I've been bottling up for five years. It's just that…"

"…You love her" said the Colonel as he finished Ben's sentence.

Ben stared dumbstruck for a few seconds before he said, "How di…did you know sir?"

Walker chuckled as he said, "'Cause I've been there before with a very special woman in my life, and if I was separated from my wife for too long, I would feel like I would be missing something too. My wife would too. Tigresses can be quite bonded to their significant other."

Walker leaned back in his chair and said, "Why didn't you bring this up with General Matz. He's your CO."

Ben shrugged and said, "I wasn't really sure if the General would be fine with it. At the moment, the only real threat to the security of Pangea lies in the annexed HR lands. There are still militant forces there that are still at odds with the CF, so I figured that my continued involvement in special operations within that region would still be needed."

"I came to you because I thought I could run this idea by you and see what you thought of it" added Ben.

Walker took off his reading glasses as he began rubbing his chin, reclined in his chair. He was in thought over what Ben had said. Soon after, Walker then said, "Richardson, your Spec Ops team have been running ops within that territory for 5 years, and at this point in time, the region may not be fully secure, but it is still stable enough that direct spec ops intervention isn't required anymore. For 5 years, you've been out in the field for almost a year at a time on operations. I also know that you've told me before that the lifestyle you lead isn't the best choice for Adam. To be honest, after all that kid's been through, he needs a stable home and it seems that you have a few issues you need to resolve too."

Walker then leaned back further in his chair as he then said, "In my opinion, you deserve some extended R & R, but I'm not your CO so I can't authorize it. Now if a certain general could be reminded of all the work that your squad in Alpha Force has done over the last 5 years, it could be possible to persuade him to give you some extended R & R for you and your squad. I think maybe a full year would be fair.

Walker then came back forward in his chair as he said, "If I were you, I'd start there.

Ben smiled slightly, before his smile then dropped as he began to say, "One other question sir."

Walker then said, "Yes, Captain?"

Ben then said, "Do you think that what humans do with fighting wars and killing one another makes us monsters?"

Walker was confused for a few moments as he then said, "I'm not sure I follow you."

Ben then said, "What I mean sir is this. Not all of Zootopia sees us as brutal killers and threats, most like us and some hate us. If what we do with all of this killing and fighting makes us brutal in their eyes, do you think that we are monsters to them as well?"

Walker scratched his chin as he said, "I've never really thought of that."

He then said, "I would argue that if this is about what your best friend thinks of you, then it's not true. I can tell you who the real monsters are…it's those savage fucks that were the HR and now the followers of their stupid little ideologies. Animals are as much living, breathing and feeling creatures as you and I are, and the HR has no right to do what they do to animals. In this, I wouldn't think of us as the monsters, I would think of us as the monster hunters."

Ben was shocked. He had never thought of it that way. He always assumed that the brutal side of him that he was aware of, but yet came out whenever innocent people were threatened, made him a monster no better than the HR. He may be as brutal as them, but he was brutal to protect innocent lives, whereas the HR and their remnants were/are brutal to cleanse the world of these "abominations."

"Anything else you need, Richardson" asked the Captain?

Ben shook his head with a smile and said, "No sir."

Walker then nodded and said, "Do what you got to do, just make sure you do it right."

Ben stood up and walked out of the office, closing the door behind him.

Ben stood outside the door as he sighed and knew that this would be the start of a whole new chapter of his life if it all went accordingly. He also knew that Adam would probably enjoy being surrounded by fellow animals more than humans anyways. What Ben didn't know if Adam was fine with moving to a new city…and a new nation?

Ben started walking back towards the entrance of the Admin building and saw the Hispanic MP and Adam sitting in two chairs as Adam was munching on some sliced vegetables in a disposable bowl as the two was chatting with each other.

Adam, upon seeing his dad, smiled at him as his face lit up. Adam swallowed some of the food as he then said, "Are you finished Dad, can we go?"

Ben came over next to his son and sat down in the chair next to him and ruffled his head fur a little as he then said, "Yeah, I took care of what needed to be taken care of. There's just one last thing though."

Adams smile dropped slightly as he then asked, "What's that Dad?"

Ben then smiled at Adam and asked, "Son, how would you feel about moving to Zootopia?"

* * *

 _ **As I spoke to Adam about the two of us moving to Zootopia, Adam became so happy and full of energy as I described what the city of Zootopia was like more and more. I was right in that he was really happy about being surrounded by animals more than humans. I explained what I knew about the city itself and what I knew about the town of BunnyBurrow I grew up in. Oh man, the kid was nearly bouncing around the place as he was saying, "Oh yes, please Dad. Can we go? Can we? I want to see it all."**_

 _ **I explained apprehensively that this was not 100 percent certain yet, which made him sad, but I then explained that I was pretty certain that this would happen. Adam and I soon left the base after I thanked the MP for looking after my son. I even told him that I would put in a good word to his superior for the help. The MP was grateful for the good word. When we got back home, I told Adam that we would be stopping back at the base again tomorrow. General Matz was out in the annexed HR lands running support for some operation with Special Tasks Group 57, so according to what Matz had told me earlier this week, today was going to most likely be the last day of the operation as he and Special Tasks Group 57 would be returning from a forward operating base either tomorrow or the next day.**_

 _ **We returned to the apartment to enjoy the rest of our Saturday at home as this might be the last Saturday that we would have in the city of Karlston. Adam was more of a home bound bunny anyways as he always felt safer at home than out and about.**_

 _ **After our breakfast and getting ready, the two of us went back to the base to talk to Matz. I left Adam with the same care of the Hispanic MP from before I found Matz and explained the proposal I had. Matz agreed that the countless successful operations over the last 5 years of my squad's duty in Alpha Force should be rewarded with some quality R & R. I also told him that it would give me the chance to be able to see family and friends that I haven't seen in the last five years. The General thought about it for a while and then added that Adam and I should move to Zootopia permanently as I can see my friends and family every year when my tour was done.**_

 _ **After all of the work packing up and finding a place to live in Zootopia was finished, Adam and I had our things sent to our new address, an apartment in Savanna Central, by a moving truck and the two of us drove across the Unity Bridge over the Scar of the World. I glanced out the window to see that below the huge suspension bridge, there were mining operations going on in the canyon that seemed to be digging for Entitonium. We drove across the Bridge and made our way into Zootopia itself. Adam and I stopped off at a diner on the outskirts of the entrance to the city for lunch.**_

 _ **I couldn't help notice that when we got out of the car, that there were plenty of Prey animals and even one or two predators giving me dirty looks. I could only wonder how bad the animal perception of humans had gotten after the war was over, and living in the CF for five years doesn't really help that much either.**_

 _ **We made our way into the diner and took a booth. As we were waiting to place our orders, I would soon hear about a little something that one of my longtime friends had been up to…Judy**_.

* * *

Ben and Adam were sitting in the booth, their drinks already brought to them. Adam ordered a Fura-Cola and Ben decided on some fresh coffee. As the two of them were sitting in the booth, Ben discreetly looked around the diner to see that they were still getting weird looks from some of the patrons. Looks of hesitation, confusion and anger were on some of the patron's faces. A few other humans in here were getting a couple of looks, but not to the degree Ben and Adam were getting. He actually found it unsettling the brewing animosity that seemed to have developed between some of the animals and humans.

The waitress came to take our order. She was a California Newt, who gave Ben a curious look for a second, but then dismissed it as she then gave a genuine smile and said, "What can I get you two?"

Ben said, "I'll take a veggie burger with extra cheese and pickles and a side of fries."

She wrote down his order and then turned to Adam and said, "What'll you have, hunny?"

Adam searched through the menu and finally said, "I'll have a veggie dog with ketchup and mustard, with some steamed veggies on the side."

The waitress wrote down his order and said, "Alright, I'll bring it as soon as it's ready. Enjoy your time here."

Ben gave her a genuine smile back since she was one of the animals that wasn't giving me and Adam weird looks and said, "Thank you."

She nodded and walked towards the kitchen to place the order with the cooks.

Ben was about to take a sip of his coffee, when he heard a conversation coming from two booths in front of them that seemed a little interesting.

"I can't believe our training at the academy is finally over" said a female wolf in the booth. She was accompanied with two other animals, dressed in uniforms of some type.

The Hippo in the booth nodded in agreement and said, "Me too, I grateful though. I was so used to listening to that Polar Bear drill instructor yelling at me, I was starting to have dreams about training. I mean, who has those types of dreams."

The wolf than said, "Oh, I know. I still can't believe that Cadet Hopps was able to knock out that rhino with a flying kick. Many, that bunny packs a wallop."

Ben's attention diverted solely to the conversation now as I tried my best to listen in on them.

Could they be taking about…her he thought?

The last time Ben talked to Judy, she was saying that she was looking into enlisting in the ZPD academy, but she never told him when she would ship out for basic.

No, it can't be he thought in dismissal.

"Hey you think she packs a wallop? You're not the one who had Judy knock you unconscious. I would hate to feel what that Rhino's feeling right now" said a Lion cadet.

Ben set his cup down with a slightly harder than usual clink on the table as he stared into space dumbstruck.

No…fucking…way he thought. She actually did it.

Ben overheard the lion then say, "At least all we have left is the graduation in two hours, then begins the next part of our lives."

Ben then said to Adam, "Stay here son, I'll be back."

Adam was surfing the internet on his iCarrot phone and just replied to me, "Alright Dad."

He stood up and went over to the booth where the three cadets were and walked up to them.

Ben got mixed reactions.

The hippo glared at him as he approached in trepidation, while the lion and the wolf gave him neutral expressions.

He then said to them, "Sorry, but I overheard your conversation. That Judy Hopps you're talking about, is she a grey bunny with white front fur?"

The hippo then said with a bit of snarkiness in his voice, "Maybe, maybe not. What's it to you human? You want to add her to your body count too?"

The lion jabbed the hippo hard in his chest as the hippo grunted in pain from the action.

Ben felt his fists tighten slightly at the hippo's remark, but thankfully, the lion then said, "Excuse our friend here. He's not used to humans very much." The lion spoke with gritted teeth to the hippo who seemed to shrink in his seat a bit.

The lion then said, "That would be her, stranger. Why do you want to know?"

Ben then explained that Judy was an old friend of mine from my childhood and that I lost contact with her for five years. They all gave him curious looks as to why he would have ignored contact with her for five years. He then told them what my name was and then the lions expression changed to one of slight relief as he said, "Well I'm glad you're trying to get back into contact with her. She's done nothing but talk about how much she misses you and that she didn't know whether you died in the war or not."

"Really" he asked?

The wolf then said, "Yeah, I mean she has so much spirit to her, but she told me that ever since you drifted out of her life, that she felt like something was missing."

I can't believe this Ben thought. I'm in Zootopia and she's here for the graduation ceremony. She actually misses me and…

She misses me he thought sullenly. Would she even want to see me since I've changed? Can I actually show myself to her again?

Oh well, nothing ventured. Nothing gained he thought.

Ben then asked, "Say, where's this ceremony at?"

The wolf then said, "Oh, it's outside of the police academy, about two miles west of here. If you follow the gravel road that intersects this road, you'll get there."

He nodded and said, "Thanks for the help. Have a good day."

They nodded as Ben walked away back towards Adam, who was already eating his veggie dog. He sat down in the booth and Adam swallowed the bite of food he took as he then said, "Everything alright, Dad?"

Ben nodded with a bit of trepidation and said, "I'm not sure."

Adam's expression changed to one of worry as my son seemed to be concerned that I was in trouble or something.

Ben then said, "Hey Adam. Remember that female bunny in that photo you saw a few days ago?"

Adam nodded as he took another bite of his food.

He then said with a half fake smile, "How would you like to meet her?"

Adam swallowed as he then said, "Is she nice?"

Ben chuckled and said, "From what I remembered about her, she is one of the nicest animals you'll ever meet."

Adam smiled as he then said, "When will we meet her?"

Ben grabbed my veggie burger and then said, "In two hours" before he took a bite of his food.

* * *

 _ **Adam and I then went back to our food as I mentally groaned and thought, Well Judy, I hope you won't see me as a monster, but the slayer of monsters.**_

 _ **Adam and I finished our food and I paid the tab. We still had an hour before the ceremony, to which I asked Adam if he was okay with driving around to see the city of Zootopia for a half hour. Adam's face beamed as he then asked, "Sounds cool Dad. Do you think they have a city aquarium here?" I told Adam that I wasn't sure, but that they probably did.**_

 _ **After a while of driving, Adam was in awe over the sights of the city so far. All of the animals seemed to be familiar and comforting to him more than the human majority population back in the CF. After the half hour was up, we set course for the police academy, and it was there that I would finally get my answer as to whether or not I could salvage my friendship with Judy…or if she actually may want to still be more than friends.**_

* * *

Well this is it. What I've been waiting for since I was a kid thought Judy as she was standing in a row with the other police academy graduates.

It had been a few months of grueling and intensive training for Judy to become a police officer. Everybody at the academy had said that a bunny couldn't make it as a cop, and that she was just chasing a pipe dream. Alas, Judy had proved them all wrong as Judy was about to receive her badge as the top of her class. Oh how she couldn't be happier for herself. Judy looked behind her and saw her parents and all of her siblings in the audience. While she could see the apprehension on her parents faces, she could sense her parents had pride mixed in with that apprehension.

However, Judy couldn't help but let out a little sigh. It was nice to have her parents and her family here, but she knew something was missing…

Him.

It's been 5 years since Judy's heard from her best friend Ben. The last Judy had talked to him was just before the war ended, and Judy thought nothing of it at first. However, she soon noticed that Ben was leaving her messages sent to his military email unread. She had really started to panic when after the war was over, Ben seemed to have dropped off the face of the Earth. Judy left him an email every week for the first year, begging him to let her know that he was fine and where he was. She feared the worst that her friend had died in the war and nobody came to talk with his parents or her family about it. Every day she started to lose hope that she would see him again, until she stopped sending messages altogether.

Sure she would talk about him during her time at the academy with the other recruits, but she refused to believe that he was gone. She may have stop sending him emails, but a part of her deep down inside remembered what Ben had told her all those years ago.

As long as she had hope, that hope would one day carry him home. Home back to BunnyBurrow, Home back to his family…

Home back to her.

The pain that she may never see her best friend again ate at her for the better part of the last 5 years. Sure she tried going out with other animals and even another human, but none of them gave her that same special feeling that she had with Ben. Though she never told Ben this, she loved him.

If only Ben could see me now she thought solemnly.

Judy's left ear stood up as she heard a heavier set of pawsteps approach the stage. The newest mayor of the City of Zootopia, Mayor Lionheart, had approached the podium and began the graduation ceremony.

Lionheart was the 52nd mayor of Zootopia and the instigator of the mammal inclusion initiative, which was what, gave mammals like Judy the chance to finally be able to join the force as an officer.

Lionheart then began by saying, "My fellow Zootopians, we are gathered here today to honor the accomplishments and the effort of the newest recruits to join the Zootopia Police Department. While I could not be happier as mayor for seeing all of these new recruits to join the law enforcement department for our fair city, I would like to take a moment to first thank all of the families of these recruits for helping to shape them into what they needed to be to be able to take on the academy and come out in the end stronger animals than before."

Lionheart then continued as he read from his prewritten speech as he then said, "However, we know that we would not be here today to honor these individuals if it was not for how history had worked out 5 years ago. As many of you are aware, today marks the 5 year anniversary of the end of the Pangean War, a conflict which had threatened to turn our entire world upside down. I would like us, in honor of both the veterans of the war here with us today, as well as those who paid the ultimate sacrifice, to give a minute of silent remembrance for all of the lives lost and the many billions more saved."

The entire audience bowed their heads for a minute in silent remembrance. Judy could feel tears form in her eyes as she tried to struggle with the fact that those who gave their lives for the safety of Zootopia may have included Ben. She tried to not dwell on it, but alas, she knew that the possibility had always been there.

After the minute was up, Lionheart continued his speech again.

"As mayor of Zootopia," Mayor Lionheart spoke, "I am proud to announce that my Mammal Inclusion Initiative has produced it's first police academy graduate."

Judy stood proudly, as she heard the Mayor continue with a smile.

"Valedictorian of her class, ZPD's very first Rabbit officer, Judy Hopps!" Lionheart said, as he gestured to the young rabbit, in which Judy happily walked up the stage, her family cheering for her, Stu slowly crying a little.

As soon as the first rabbit of the ZPD appeared on stage, Lionheart looked to Bellwether, however she was a little focused on applauding Judy happily, before the lion caught her attention with an "Ahem".

"Assistant Mayor Bellwether, her badge." He said, with a smile to let her know that it was time give the bunny her honorary badge of the police force.

"Oh, yes, of course!" Bellwether said, as she remembered what to do and franticly and quickly walked to Judy, getting out the ZPD badge, and placed it on her.

"Thank you," Lionheart said to the little sheep, before proudly turning to Judy, "Judy, it is my great privilege to officially assign you to the heart of Zootopia, precinct one, City Central."

Hearing this, Judy did her best not to cry, as she felt so much joy in her, though while her family were excited about how far Judy had come so far, Stu and Bonnie, though slowly applauding, looked to each other with worry about their daughter heading to the big city.

As Mayor Lionheart approached them, Assistant Mayor Bellwether looked to the first bunny cop happily.

"Congratulation, Officer Hopps." Bellwether said happily.

"I won't let either of you down." Judy said to the co-mayors, before giddily and happy leaned in and said, "This has been my dream since I was a kid."

This made the two city-running mammals gain a small chuckle, as Lionheart spoke to the rabbit, "As I always say, 'Anyone can be Anything', and you, Judy, you wear that proudly."

"Well said," Bellwether spoke, as she then stated to Judy, "besides, you know, it's a – it's a real proud day for us little guys." Ending it with a proud wink to the appointed cop.

Then, as the paparazzi approached them, ready for pictures, Lionheart moved (though a bit rudely) Bellwether out of the way, "Bellwether, make room will 'ya?"

Soon, the lion mayor placed his paw on Judy's shoulder as he said with a smile, "Okay, Officer Hopps, let's see those teeth."

The cameras then began flashing as pictures were taking of the new (and first) police officer with the mayors of Zootopia (Bellwether managing to get into the picture shots to join the smile duo).

The rest of the ceremony continued as, unbeknownst to Judy, two figures were watching from a concealed position, and one of them wore a look of total pride, while at the same time having a look that he felt troubling.

Love…apprehensive love.

Ben was able to overhear from way in the back of the audience, hidden from view by the crowd, what was being said. While he was happy for his old friend, Ben was still apprehensive about wanting to talk to her again.

One thing that both feelings of Ben could agree on was this…

To him, she was still as beautiful as when he first started to develop feelings for her. Alas, Ben knew that, especially after all these years away from contact with her, that she probably didn't feel the same way. He knew that even if that wasn't the case, he still didn't want to risk his friendship with her. Now, however, it was the hard fact that his old friend may see Ben as a monster for how much he's changed.

Ben heard his son then say, "Dad, that bunny was your friend I take it, right?"

Ben put his arm round his son's shoulder as he then said, "Yeah, Adam. That's her."

Adam then looked up at his Dad and then said, "Can I talk to her after this event, I want to meet her."

Ben swallowed hard in his throat as he wasn't too sure if even he was ready for this. However, Ben just smiled to his son and said, "I'm not sure I'm ready for this Adam."

The bunny looked up at his dad and then said, "It'll be fine Dad. Maybe this is what you need to stop getting upset over her."

Ben rubbed his son's back slightly as he then realized that Adam was right, this whole effort to come here wasn't just for the sake of coming back home to Zootopia. Even though part of it was to try to give Adam a normal year with his father, Ben knew that the main reason was to resolve the demons that have been haunting him for the last 5 years.

Once the ceremony had concluded and the recruits began to leave with their families, Ben knew that now was the time to go talk to his friend.

Ben's feet felt like lead and his heart raced as he knew that the next few minutes would either rekindle a friendship, or would snuff out the embers from the one he once knew.

Finally, Ben started to walk through the crowds of people and animals as Judy was walking over towards her family.

Ben stopped as the crowd had dispersed enough that he was able to see Judy walking past him. Once she was past him, Ben then gathered all of his willpower to speak up, "Hey, Judy. Finally did it, huh?"

Judy stopped so abruptly in her tracks, she almost fell over. He stay still for a few moments before looking behind her in shock and said softly with disbelief, "Ben?"

Her eyes locked with an old human that had scars visible on his arms and was dressed in army pants and a white T-shirt. Near the human was a young rabbit boy, probably no older than 13.

The human smirked and said, "The same one, Judy. It's been a while."

Ben could swear that her jaw almost hit the floor as she stared in shock at her now returned best friend.

Ben could feel sweat form as he wasn't sure what Judy's reaction meant, and he just stood there and held his breath.

Finally, the bunny nearly leapt at Ben and wrapped her arms around her old friend in a tight embrace as she said softly, "I'm not dreaming, am I?"

Ben embraced his old friend and hugged her tight as he then said, "No, I'm as real as the day I left."

Tears began to fall from Judy's eyes as she let out quiet sobs as she then said softly, "I can't believe this. I almost gave up all hope that you'd return. I've left so many messages. I…I…"

Ben rubbed his friends back softly as he then whispered, "I'm glad you never gave up hope. I missed you."

She embraced him tightly as she whispered, "I missed you too."

"I told you that you have nothing to worry about Dad" said Adam watching the whole thing with a smile.

"Dad" stated Judy in shock?! She pulled away to look at him in the eyes, her eyes red from crying as she seemed shocked and slightly hurt about something Ben couldn't point out.

Ben rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly as he then said, "Yeah…Judy, this is my adopted son, Adam."

Ben then motioned towards Adam as he then said, "Adam, this is my best friend Judy."

Adam waved a little shyly as Judy looked up at him and asked, "So he's not your actual son?"

Ben then looked confused as he then said, "No, I just said he's my adopted son. I'm not even married Judy."

Judy's confusion disappeared and was replaced by a goofy grin mixed with relief as she then said, "Okay, you have got to tell me what happened over the last five years."

Ben's face turned to one of nervousness as he then said, "Oh…well um, it's kind of a long story. I hope you can understand that there are some things that I don't really want to talk about. At least not yet, Judy."

Judy half smirked as she shrugged her shoulders slightly and said, "Yeah, I can understand that. Hey, you have got to say hi to my family. Oh, they are going to be so happy to see you back, Ben."

Ben inwardly grinned as he knew that this meant that the little ones in her family would swarm over him, while the rest would probably barrage him with questions.

"Sure Judy" Ben said with a smile.

Ben, Judy and Adam went over towards the Hopps, whom were wondering what was keeping Judy so long. Apparently, they weren't able to recognize Ben after all these years. How could he blame them though, it's been nearly 6 years since Ben's seen any of the Hopps other than his best friend.

As Ben walked over towards Stu and Bonnie, their attention went from talking with each other, to looking at this vaguely familiar, yet intimidating looking human.

Judy jogged ahead and said with such happiness and energy, "Guys, you are not going to believe who I found here."

Judy had a happy and goofy grin on her face as she bounced slightly in place, before saying, "Mom, Dad. Ben's back after all these years."

The look on the faces of the two older bunnies made Ben nearly laugh as they looked to the human, Ben, and then back to their daughter, then back and forth again at least once more.

Bonnie then said, "Oh my word, I can't believe it. We've been waiting for this day for so long" with a smile on her face.

Stu then stuttered and said, "I…We…You…" while not finishing any of the sentences he was starting.

Stu then stepped forward as he then said, "Ben, we thought you were dead." He then hugged Ben tightly as he said, "Welcome back home, son."

Ben embraced Stu in a friendly hug and extended his other arm for Bonnie, who came in for a hug herself.

Ben hugged both bunnies as he then said, "I'm sorry it took me so long to come back to BunnyBurrow."

Ben then added curiously, "Wait, why did you call me son, Stu?"

Stu left the hug and looked up happily at Ben as he then said, "I told you all those years ago Ben, your like part of the family. To me and Bon, it feels like you've come back home to us. Not as a friend of the family, but as one of our own kids."

Bonnie then looked around Ben and saw a white rabbit boy standing behind Ben with a big smile on his face, as the bunny waved shyly to Bonnie and Stu.

Bonnie then asked, "Ben, who's the bunny behind you?"

Ben looked behind him and grabbed his son's shoulder lightly as he then motioned walked hind his son, hands on both of his shoulders and said, "Oh, this is my son, Adam. Adam, this is Bonnie and Stu Hopps" while motioning to each bunny respectively.

Stu stuttered and said, "Wh- Son?!"

Ben then added in, "Okay, adopted son. But still one of the best beings to happen to me in my life."

Ben ruffled his son's head fur as the bunny giggled slightly at the action. Judy just let out a near silent, "Aww" as she put a paw over her chest.

Judy was surprised by not only the fact that Ben was a father now, but that he seemed to love his son very much.

Still as caring and handsome as the day he left Judy thought with her heart fluttering as she thought about her best friend she had feelings for. Maybe one day, we might have kids together…

Judy mentally sighed as she knew that it probably wouldn't happen though. She felt that after all these years with Ben gone, that he wouldn't want to be in anything serious. Seriously, she didn't even know if Ben ever had the same types of feelings for her that she did for Ben.

She just grinned as she knew that one thing was certain…Ben was back home finally, and their friendship had withstood the trials of war and separation.

Bonnie then asked, "So what brings you back after all these years, Ben?"

Ben sighed as he then said, "To be honest, I spent the better part of the last 5 years missing home and everyone here. I felt like something was missing, and I wanted to give Adam a more comfortable and more normal life, so I figured now would be a good time to move back to Zootopia."

"If you missed us for so long, then why did you wait 5 years to return home" asked Stu?

Ben looked away from them down to the ground as he then said, "Some…personal problems of mine. I don't really want to talk about it right now."

Bonnie comfortingly rubbed Ben's arm, right over two of his scars, and said, "It's alright Ben. We understand."

Ben then said, "Thanks."

Ben then looked to Judy and said, "So since it's been 5 years, I was wondering if you guys were still planning on doing anything in the city here today. You know, catch up for old times' sake."

Stu shook his head and said, "As much as we wish we could son, we need to get back to the farm. We got to finish getting the crops to market, and we got to get the kids home."

Stu motioned behind him at the rest of the Hopps brood, whom were already waiting in several cars and vans to head back home. Their older kids who were legal to drive were waiting outside the cars talking to one another.

Judy jumped in and said, "I'm free for the rest of the day if you want to hang out Ben." Judy added that in with a bit too much enthusiasm, and she looked down to the ground slightly embarrassed as she didn't want to seem too quick to jump to hanging with Ben. She figured that it would take a while for things to return to normal between them.

However, Judy was surprised when Ben smiled at her and said, "I'd love that Judy, but I have to get some things done before tomorrow." Judy looks a little let down when she hears this. "Oh… okay, well when will we see you again?"

"You'll see me around, Judy. Here, how about you give me your phone number. I'm sure that your old number I have on my iPhone no longer works, what with it being seven years."

Judy smiled at Ben and said with a shrug, "Yeah, I got a new number two years ago. It's kind of a long story involving an ex of mine."

Ben's expression sunk to one of curiosity and painful realization…

Either she never liked him to begin with, or she moved on during his long absence.

"Oh" said Ben.

Judy let out a drawn out, "Yeah" as she then added, "It's a story for another time."

The two longtime friends exchanged numbers and another hug as they parted ways with each other to go get ready for what tomorrow would bring.

As Ben and Adam got into his Dodge Charger, Ben realized that he had been holding in some anxiety from returning back to the world he knew before the war.

He had returned home, not only to Zootopia, but to the only other family that ever called him a part of their own. Ben let out a sound somewhere between a sigh of relief and a sigh of anger, directed at himself for not returning sooner back home. Ben then looked at his son and said, "Adam?"

The bunny was about to listen to some music on his iCarrot phone through his earbuds as he then turned his head to his Dad and said, "Yeah, Dad?"

Ben smirked and said, "Thank you. Thank you for giving me the strength to put my demons to rest."

Adam beamed a smile at his Dad as he then said, "Your welcome Dad, but what do you mean by "demons?"

Ben replied staring out the window, "Just all of the problems you've been seeing your father deal with lately."

Adam then said, "Oh, okay." He then put his ear buds in his ears as Ben started the car and said softly, "I just hope it wasn't too late."

Ben knew that their apartment would not be ready for their arrival for another day, according to the conversation he had with the landlord that morning. So Ben decided to take the two of them to an Inn in BunnyBurrow for the night.

* * *

 _The next day…_

Ben awoke in his Inn room to a massive crash outside their second floor window. Adam jumped out of his bed in the other room in surprise as the bunny's first instinct was to run. Ben ran to the window and unlocked it and whipped it open and looked out.

Ben was beyond pissed.

Outside, somebody had T-boned Ben's Charger in its parking space from the left side, caving in the driver door. Ben saw the offender car had just pulled out of the parking lot and speed away with a huge roar of the engine, which surprised Ben that the damn thing was still even running. Ben got dressed and told Adam that he'd be right back, to which the bunny seemed a bit panicked, but Ben reassured him it was alright.

Ben came out of the lobby, along with the receptionist at the Inn to see how bad the damage was. Ben's heart sank when he saw the damage that the hit and run asshole had caused to his car that he got as a birthday gift so long ago.

Ben popped the hood and found that the engine had been knocked off the engine block. In addition, the entire driver side was caved in so far that if Ben had been sitting in the car, he would have been either dead or pinned in the vehicle.

"Damn that fucker, my cars fucking totaled" said Ben in anger as he slammed the hood back down, only for it to refuse to latch shut again.

The receptionist, a female beaver, said, "I'm so sorry this happened to you sir. If you need to make a call for anything, feel free to use my desk phone." She then walked back in and said as she was halfway to the doors, "I'm going to let my manager know what happened."

Ben went back in the Inn and went back up to his and Adam's room. Upon entering, Adam looked up at his Dad from the arm chair near the window, playing with one of his ears. This was something the bunny did occasionally when he was worried.

Adam then said, "I heard what happened, Dad. I think the entire Inn did actually."

Ben sat down on the bed as he was trying to figure out how'd they get to Zootopia, with it so far away. Ben glanced to his dogtags on the nightstand next to him and he suddenly got an idea.

"Adam, how would you feel about paying a visit to the CF base in BunnyBurrow" asked Ben?

Adam's expression dimmed as he then said, "I don't want to, but I guess. Why?"

Ben then said, "To get us a ride."

* * *

 _Meanwhile, that same morning._

Judy had just said her goodbyes to her family in bunnyburrow as she boarded the train that would take her to her new home…Zootopia. The train pulled away from the platform and Judy could see, though with a somewhat interrupted view, that BunnyBurrow was fading into the distance. Judy let out a sigh that was mixed with as much trepidation as it was with relief. This was her first time living away from home in her life, which brought her some feelings of fear that she couldn't make ends meet with her new job on her own. The relief came from the realization that her childhood dream of being a police officer was now officially here as she was on her way to her new work in the city. Judy decided that since the train would take some time to get to Zootopia, to listen to some music. She put in her earbuds and scrolled through her list of songs on her mp3 player until she found just the one she wanted. Her favorite singer with her top hit song, "Try Everything".

 _Oh oh oh oh ohhhhhhh_

 _Oh oh oh oh ohhhhhhh_

As the song was about to finally get started, Judy's eyes caught a glimpse of something shining over the crest of a hill. Her eyes opened wide as the train speed past the hill to finally give way to the crown jewel of Zootopia…the City of Zootopia itself.

 _I messed up tonight_

 _I lost another fight_

As Judy listened to the song, the train speed past a huge sign that read "Welcome to Zootopia". Just behind the sign lay the district of Sahara Square, the city district notorious for blazing heat and frigid nights. As her train took her through Sahara Square, Judy noticed quite a few CFM soldiers on patrol wearing desert camo uniforms. The brief glimpses of the city populace from the train seemed to show that the human dominated military was quite a common sight within the district. After the civil war ended, Zootopia signed an armed agreement with the CF; if Zootopia had a public collapse, any outbreaks, came under attack by threats both foreign and domestic, or experienced mass riots, the CFM would back them up both economically and militarily. This also allowed the CFM to build a base in each of the 12 districts of Zootopia. There were an estimated 22,000 CFM soldiers in Zootopia.

Judy's train reached the tunnel built into one of Zootopia's climate walls on the side of Sahara Square and exited out into Tundratown on the other side; the cold, snowy district of Zootopia. Judy saw polar bears, artic wolves, and penguins out on their daily walking commutes or running errands. In addition, she also spotted other patrolling CF soldiers; only the ones in Tundratown wore thicker, artic camo uniforms designed for the frigid, artificially controlled climate. The train then passed through yet another climate wall, leaving behind the frozen, yet built up Tundratown, and exited into the Rainforest district. Rain washed over the glass of the observation deck as the train moved along. There were reptiles, birds, and felines out on their daily tasks in life, as well as more soldiers dressed in jungle camo, and most likely a few undercover soldiers out in the district hiding in Guile Suits. Through the whole tour, Judy felt joy and happiness at witnessing Zootopia with her own eyes for the first time, yet couldn't help but feel both equally uneasy as well as safe with the high presence of human soldiers in the city districts.

Finally, the train reached the city center and pulled into a rather large and well-built train station rolled to a stop. Judy grabbed her things, and with a smile on her muzzle, ran down the observation platform and left the train with a somewhat over eager expression on her muzzle. The station was crowded with animals and a few humans as Judy weaved her way through the crowd towards the exit. Outside, Judy looked around her in amazement as the skyscrapers stood taller than even the largest elephant and certainly taller than any building in Bunnyburrow. The song slowed down to its conclusion as Gazelle then sung,

 _"Try Everything"_

Judy gazed up at the jumbo-tron with Gazelle giving new arrivals a warm welcome to the city on screen.

 _"I'm Gazelle. Welcome to Zootopia."_

* * *

 _Meanwhile, in Tundratown…_

The road from the rainforest district that came out of one of the district walls was clear of most of the mooring traffic. However, a heavy sound came from the tunnel of a diesel engine, created in part from the echo of the tunnel, as a HUMVEE drove out of the tunnel. The driver was none other than Ben, with Adam riding shotgun. After some, convincing of the Fort Lotercreed CO in BunnyBurrow to lend Ben the HUMVEE for the next few days, Ben and Adam made their way towards their new apartment. Inside on the gun racks located right next to both the driver and front passenger doors are a Galil ACE assault rifle (on Ben's side) and a Vector CRB .45 submachinegun (on Adam's side, who has been told to NOT touch either weapon without Ben's permission). They stopped for breakfast at a fast food place going through the drivethru at the restaurant. The look on the blue jays face as the two of them pulled up for their order made Adam crack a smile as the sight of a HUMVEE driven by a battle hardened Marine with a 13 year old bunny boy in the passenger seat picking up breakfast made the blue jay do a double take and let out a "uhhhhhh…a number 3 combo and a number 2 combo" as the bird spoke in a soft nervous voice? The bird then added, "So what's with the um…?" Ben then smirked as he said, "The order, well I think it's normal for a bunny to order…" The blue Jay then said, "Not that, the…oh nevermind." Adam giggled as Ben was handed his order. After stopping in the parking lot next door in a strip mall, Adam looked at Ben and said, "Is that why you wanted to go through the drive thru?" Ben smirked and said, "Can you blame me. It's not every day we get to drive around a city in a HUMVEE."

After their breakfast, Ben got a haircut from a local barbershop as he was horribly overdue for one. He decided to go with a new look that he thought would suit him, a war Mohawk. Currently, wearing a black shirt, camo pants, combat boots, and his dog tags around his neck, plus his hair cut into a war Mohawk, Ben looked like something out of a CF action movie. While the two were driving through TundraTown, Ben was listening to "Battle Born" by Five Finger Death Punch over the radio while driving to Savanna Central.

 _Once upon a time_

 _I swore I had_

 _A heart_

 _Long before_

 _The world I know_

 _Tore it all apart_

 _Once upon a time_

 _There was a past_

 _Of me I shared_

 _Years before_

 _They took away_

 _The part of me_

 _That cared_

 _I don't know_

 _Where I'm goin'_

 _But I know_

 _Just where_

 _I've been_

The light near the fuel gauge began to blink, signaling that it was time to refuel. Ben turned the Humvee into the gas station and parked beside a diesel gas pump.

"Adam, stay in the HUMVEE. I'm gonna fill the tank back up" said Ben with a backwards glance at his son as he climbed out of the vehicle. Adam nodded and went back to listening to his music. As Ben grabbed the handle of the gas pump and opened the gas cover to fill it up, Ben looked into the storefront of the gas station and saw a polar bear standing up by the counter, threatening a penguin cashier with a knife. Ben took action when he saw the polar bear backhand the penguin across his face before taking the money out of the register. When Ben entered the store, the polar bear instantly stopped looting the register to see who just walked in.

"Put the money back now, and this will go a whole lot easier for you" said Ben with balled up fists to the polar bear and a menacing glare in his eyes.

Ben gave the polar bear his one and only warning.

"Oh yeah, and how are you going to make me do that, human" he sneered?

Ben cracked his knuckles and his neck as he then said "Well, we tried the easy way. Looks like it'll have to be the hard way. Let's dance, fat ass."

The polar bear charged at Ben, but ben rolled to the side and slammed his boot into the bear's knee. He fell to his paws and knees, giving Ben the opportunity to land a few punches in his face. Two blows landed on his left eye and one on his nose before he used his right arm to shove Ben away. Ben knew quite well how to fight in hand to hand combat, but as expected, a much bigger target such as the bear was proving harder to bring down under Ben's force. Polar bears are slow, but they're strong. When fighting an opponent who has significantly more mass than you, Ben knew to move quickly, target the legs first and hit the opponent with rapid heavy blows. Ben regained his balance, as well as his opponent. His left eye was starting to swell shut while blood flowed from his nose, staining his track suit and white fur in red. Ben dashed forward and uppercut him as the bear stumbled back from the impact.

 _I've flown_

 _A million miles_

 _And I've rode so_

 _Many more_

 _The polar bear manages to catch Ben's next blow from his left fist and gives him an evil smile._

 _Everyday_

 _A castaway_

 _A vagabond_

And Ben gives him an evil smile back that makes the bear's face drop to one of horror as he knew he messed up.

 _ **Battle born**_

Using his right fist, Ben gives him a quick punch in the throat. He immediately lets go of Ben's other hand as Ben took both his hands and then slammed both of his fists into the sides of the bears head. The guy yells out in pain while holding both sides of his head while being put into a chokehold by Ben. He tried to pry Ben's arm off, but Ben only squeezed tighter in response. With each second, his resistance became weaker. Ben was contemplating on just strangling this guy to death until he glance over at the HUMVEE and remembered that Adam was only about 50 feet away.

No way in hell am I going to kill someone near my son over something as stupid as this Ben thought.

Ben released his chokehold on the bear's throat and slammed the bear's head into the counter with a might whack that cracked the counter surface. Ben then pushed the bear away as the bear stumbled back before bumping into the plate-glass window of the store. He was now on his last legs, his body swaying left and right and about to pass out. It was time to finish it. Ben simply walked up to him and glanced at him for a second before roundhouse kicking him in the head. The strike spins his body around as he fell right towards the window.

CRASH!

The would-be robber was now lying unconscious on a pile of broken glass.

Ben looked from his defeated opponent to the HUMVEE and his son. Ben was amazed to see that he's showing no sign of noticing what Ben had done. Adam was just looking at his phone screen right now, apparently browsing the internet or something. Ben then looked at the gas pump he was using and saw that it was done fueling his HUMVEE, as evidence by the counters for the pump no longer going up. Ben walked over to the counter where the penguin had gotten back up during the middle of the fight, apparently from trembling and taken cover during the confrontation. He saw everything that was broken, damaged or toppled, which was surprisingly very little, almost as if the human tried to spare as much as possible to take the robber down. The penguin then looked towards Ben in fear (he probably thought he was next). Ben just pulled out his wallet, took out some cash, and placed it on the counter to pay for the gas.

"Keep the change" Ben said to the penguin before walking back to his HUMVEE.

Ben stepped back into his HUMVEE and started the engine.

"What took you so long" asked Adam as he pulled the earbuds out of his ear.

"I had to sort something out" Ben answered, not looking at his son.

* * *

 _Meanwhile, in Savanna Central…_

Judy had just been taken up to her new apartment by the landlady that owned the complex, an older armadillo who had been quite quiet towards the much younger bunny doe. Judy in the meanwhile didn't even seem phased by the lack of conversation as she was taking in the interior of the building, other than a few stains on the wall here and there, she didn't see anything that stood out to her as too dirty. Judy was known back home for being a bit of a neat freak, perhaps even a bit too much. Judy just hoped that her apartment was free of any stains or blemishes. At last, the two came to Judy's new apartment.

"And welcome to the Grand Pangolin Arms, luxury apartments with charm. Complementary de-lousing once a month…don't lose your key" said the Armadillo Landlady to Judy before giving her the key to her apartment and walking away.

"Thank you" Judy said to her as she left.

She then saw two Antelopes walking down the hall carrying some groceries, apparently done with shopping.

"Oh, hi! I'm Judy, your new neighbor" she says to the two antelopes in her usual chipper and happy attitude.

"Yeah, well we're loud" the first one says.

"Don't expect us to apologize for it" the second one says before slamming their door.

Slightly caught off guard by their remark, Judy went into her new apartment.

The first thing that Judy noticed was that the walls weren't just stained, they looked almost greasy.

"Greasy walls… Rickety bed…," the two antelopes from before start yelling at each other and apparently knocking things around in their apartment since the pictures mounted on Judy's wall start to move up and down. "Crazy neighbors."

Of course, Judy being the optimist was just happy to finally be in Zootopia, to have her own place, and she could live her dream as an officer. To her, that trumped any problems she's seen so far.

Judy then flops down on her bed with a big smile and said with glee, "I love it!"

* * *

 _Meanwhile_ …

Ben was currently sitting at the table in his new bedroom in Savanna Central. Adam and him had finished moving in completely only 5 hours ago. Their apartment was a two bedroom one bath apartment on the top floor of their building. With a breakfast nook and a recently redone kitchen, as well as a decent sized common room that was currently the living room, Ben knew that this apartment would easily service Ben's and Adam's needs for the next year. Ben has been hard at work cleaning and disassembling his guns to check on the condition of the parts, a task he had been at for the last two hours. At his table, he was breaking down, cleaning, and reassembling the weapons he keeps in his gun cabinet: an H&K M27 IAR, an M39 EMR, and the sidearm he replaced his old FN five seven with, the Colt M45 MEU. Ben looked at the time and saw that it was past midnight, his son was currently in bed having gone to bed two hours ago. Ben mentally chuckled as he remembered the look that Adam had on his muzzle all day, a llok of wonder, amazement and pure happiness at his and Ben's new life for the next year. To Ben, it pained him to think of the reaction that he'll get from Adam when they would have to move again. In addition, Ben knew that this would give Adam the chance to live life as a child his age should do, which Ben made sure to include putting Adam into a good school for the next year.

As Ben reassembled his Colt, he was grateful to know that for the sake of Adam's psyche that dam wouldn't have to be taught by one on one private instructors for the next year like had been the case when Adam and Ben were back in the CF. The reason for this was that there was simply no other way to give Adam an education since he was stuck at the base when Ben was out on deployment. Ben smiled at the thought of Adam being able to make friends and feel like a kid for the next year, even if Ben knew that it might be quite a…different experience for the young bunny buck.

Thinking about this however got Ben to reminisce about his life, both during the war and after. Ben could feel he was stuggling to hold back tears at the thought of the fateful day that claimed the lives of all of Echo Squad, except for him. Ben suffered periodic episodes of survivors guilt because of it. He remembered the hardships of his squad member's funerals, all of the pained faces of both animal and human alike as their loved ones were lowered into their plots in the cemetery. Ben gave as best of a eulogy that he could for each of the squad members, but was struggling with all of the pained and broken hearts around him. Ben then thought about the joy of Adam coming into his life after the war, remembering the little bunny boy sprint into Ben's open arms when Ben returned to the marine base the death camp survivors had been taken to. Tears of joy and relief streamed down Adam's muzzle as he knew that Ben had kept his promise and that his hero who had pulled him from the living hell he was in had returned to him again. That finally got Ben to think about today and how Judy came back into his life. Ben was grateful for his son talking him into trying to restore an old friendship that was severed by the merciless blade of war. Ben knew that there were the explanations that he would eventually have to tell Judy. Ben was afraid that she won't take it well when he would tell her that him being here was only for a year. Even more so, he knew that he would have to tell Judy one day soon about why he had waited so long to contact her. What would happen then? But at the same time, he's glad that he came back to Zootopia, that he found out that Judy was graduating from the police academy, that Adam convinced him to approach her after the ceremony, that he got her number, and that he had her back. Ben finished putting the M45 back together and placed the three weapons back into the cabinet. Ben got changed into a pair of shorts and went to lie down on his bed. Ben knew that both him and Judy had been through there own hardships beyond what Ben already knew. In addition to her being scared and worried shitless about Ben and what happened to him after the war, he could only imagine the number of people and animals that told Judy that she would never be able to achieve her dreams of being a bunny cop. He knew that she had no idea the demons that he faced over the last few years, neither did she know about the "other" Ben that lurked deep inside of him, a Hyde to his own Jekyll. Ben in the end was overcome by one final thought before he began to drift asleep.

"I hope she does well in the ZPD" Ben says to himself before falling asleep.

* * *

5:30 A.M.

Ben woke up and got out of bed. He's known to sometimes get up early and go for a walk to help clear his head when things were bothering him. After using the bathroom and getting dressed, he grabbed his Colt .45 from the cabinet, placed it in his holster, and went out the door.

Judy was on her way to Precinct One for her first day on the ZPD. She's only a few blocks from there when she bumped into someone she wasn't expecting. Ben and Judy are both caught off-guard when they see each other.

"Ben! What are you doing out this early" asked the chipper bunny, dressed in her ZPD uniform for her first day of work.

Ben admired his friend as she looked rather cute in that uniform of hers, but Ben would never say the "C" word to her, knowing it was a great insult to bunnies. Ben hid his colt as best as he could from her view, as he looked at her and smirked.

"I was going on a walk, you know how I like an early start. Going to Precinct One for your first day" Ben asked?

"Yes, I am. You want to tag along" she asked?

Judy knew that Ben would not be able to go with her on real police work, but she could at least enjoy his company for an hour or so before she began her shift.

"Sure thing, Judy" said ben with a smile, while Judy beamed a smile back to him.

The bunny cop and the human soldier walked to Precinct One, passing through a few military checkpoints on the way. Since Ben was a soldier and Judy was a cop, they just waved the two through the checkpoints without a word. When they reached Precinct One, however, the mood took a downturn.

The second Ben and Judy entered the building, almost every officer in there glared or stared at Ben, the building's atrium becoming nearly audibly dead. Judy noticed this happening and began to comfort Ben.

"It's alright Ben, it's not that they hate you, they just don't like the CFM" Judy whispers to me leaning towards me.

Ben only nodded and continued to the front desk, Ben was pretty much un-phased by the reactions he got, where a chubby cheetah was eating a bowl of cereal.

"Excuse me" Judy said to the cheetah, Clawhauser!

"hm?" he first looked at Ben with a confused expression, apparently thinking that the feminine voice came from Ben.

Ben pointed at his shorter friend, Judy.

"Hi" said Judy with a wave!

"O.M. Goodness… They really did hire a bunny! What!? I gotta tell you, you are even cuter than I thought you'd be" said the chubby, cheerful cheetah. Ben mentally laughed as he knew this cheetah would give Judy a run for her money in the "can do spirit" department.

Judy cringed when he said "cute". Calling a bunny cute was a bit of a speciesist thing to say, but Clawhauser seemed to be unaware of this taboo nature.

"Ooh, uh, you probably didn't know, but a bunny can call another bunny cute, but when other animals do it, it's a little…" Judy explained.

Clawhauser gasps.

"I am so sorry! Me, Benjamin Clawhauser, the guy everyone thinks is just a flabby, donut-loving cop stereotyping you, oh…" he replied with a sullen look on his muzzle.

"That's okay" Judy says before noticing the donut stuck in Clawhauser's neck folds.

"Oh, you've actually- you've actually got… there's a…" Clawhauser seemed quite confused at what she was trying to get at up to this point, so Ben decide to help her out.

"Um… A what" Clawhauser asks?

"There's a donut stuck a little under its target" Ben tells him.

His paw immediately goes to his neck and finds the donut.

"Oh, there you went you little dickens" he then ate the donut in a single bite!

Judy began to laugh nervously.

"I should get to role call. So, which way do I…" She began.

"Oh, bull pen's over there to the left" said Clawhauser as he directed her.

"Great. Thank you" she said

Ben knew that he couldn't tag along with her to her morning role call and briefing, so he decided to hang out in the atrium to say bye to her once she came back with her assignment.

"You go ahead, Judy. I'm gonna get myself a coffee" Ben said to her before going over to a nearby coffee pot while she went off to the bull pen.

As Ben walked to get some coffee, he could feel the officers, except Clawhauser, glaring at him. The truth is that Ben didn't blame them. There's tension between the CFM and ZPD right now because the CFM are pretty much taking the ZPD's job. As Ben drank from his plastic cup of coffee, he saw a cape buffalo walk by who gave him the biggest glare out of all of the officers. Ben just briefly stared back and returned to drinking his coffee. Ben had to wonder why the buffalo seemed so…at odds with Ben being here, or even if that was what it was to begin with?

* * *

Chief Bogo entered the bull pen while the other officers inside the room began to bang their balled paws on the tables.

"Alright, alright! Everybody sit. I've got three items on the docket. First… we need to acknowledge the elephant in the room. Francine- happy birthday" said the Buffalo, Chief Bogo.

The elephant officer Francine got into a tussle with the officers around her.

"Heh, oh yeah" she gave a tiger officer a noogie.

Chief Bogo continued.

"Number two; there are some new recruits with us I should introduce, but I'm not going to because I don't care" he said.

The officers in the room snicker while Judy grins.

"Finally; we have fourteen missing animal cases- all predators- from a giant polar bear to a teensy little otter, and City Hall is right up my tail to find them! This is priority number one. And one more thing; the Commonwealth Military is now on the cases" said the Chief.

The room suddenly filled with groans of annoyance and disagreement from some officers and remarks from others about the involvement of the human military.

Officer Delgato chimed in saying, "The more assets we have on the case, the better."

Officer Fangmeyer in front of him looked back at Delgato as she said, "I'm used to cooperating with humans, so it'll be a change of pace for me."

Officer Grizolli then remarked across the room, "I'm sure your used to cooperating with humans considering your married to one."

Chief Bogo calmed down the room with a loud and near booming, "Enough!"

He then turned to the list of assignments for the day.

"Assignments: Officers Grizzoli, Fangmeyer, Delgato; your teams take missing animals from Rain Forest distric. Officers McHorn, Rhinowitz, Wolfard; your teams take Sahara Square. And finally, our first bunny: Officer Hopps…" stated the Chief.

Judy became anxious for her first assignment as she sat there patiently while beaming with pride over what her first day would bring her.

"Parking duty. Dismissed".

Bogo started walking for the door.

"Parking duty" Judy says to herself, confused that she's just been given a menial task?

"Chief? Chief Bogo" Judy called to get the Chief's attention?

Bogo stopped and turned to her.

"Sir, you said there were fourteen missing animal cases" said the bunny.

"So" asked the Chief, apparently not getting Judy's point?

"So I can handle one. You probably forgot, but I was top of my class at the academy" Judy said, beaming that last sentence with a posture of pride and a smirk to match.

"Didn't forget. Just don't care" he said to her.

"Sir, I'm not just some token bunny" she said.

"Well then, writing one hundred tickets a day should be easy. Oh, and your human friend better not cause any trouble. Keep him on a tight leash" he said with a snort at the end.

As Bogo leaves the room with a slam of the door, Judy was shocked. The fact is, Bogo didn't like the human military, but Judy mistook this as racism towards humans. Judy met back up with Ben in the lobby.

"So, what'd they stick you with" Ben asks out of both curiosity for her friend and to figure out what he would do next?

"Parking duty" she says, not looking all that happy about it.

"Wait, what? Ehhh, it's probably just a job they give to recruits" Ben replies in an effort to try to cheer her up. Ben secretly felt like there was more than her position given to her might be letting on, but he didn't want to address it to her, at least not yet.

Then he thought of something to help cheer her up.

"You know, I don't have anything going on today, so how about I help you out today?" Judy smiled at the idea as she knew that parking duty was a menial task that she could bring her friend along with. Plus, the fact that Ben was CF military would also help too, even if Judy wasn't aware that he was still in the military, just on extended R&R.

Ben was surprised that Judy hadn't figured that out yet, but she must have assumed the soldiers let both of them through the checkpoint so easily because Judy was a cop. Ben inwardly laughed for he knew that his friend, for how clever of an animal she was, she could also be quite naïve at times too.

"I'd like that" she said with a smile. The two of them left the atrium after Judy grabbed her meter maid uniform and the ticket printer and went out into the parking lot.

* * *

 _ **AN: Well here it is, now we are in the films plot, so now this epic train is on the move, and just one chapter away until we see Nick Wilde, anyways ant constructive criticism and feedback is welcome until next time my friends**_.


	6. Chapter 6

_Chapter 6: The Fox in Sheep's Clothing …_

 _My secret side I keep hid under lock and key_  
 _I keep it caged but I can't control it_  
 _'Cause if I let him out he'll tear me up, break me down_  
 _Why won't somebody come and save me from this, make it end?_

 _~Skillet- Monster~_

 _ **It felt great.**_

 _ **It felt great to be back home in Zootopia, to be part of the nation that I grew up in once again. Sure, I may not be an animal of the type native to Zootopia, but my childhood was spent in this region of the world, growing up to become the man I am today: A soldier, a father, and a protector of the innocent. However, I couldn't help but think that it felt great to be back here in Zootopia for yet another reason…and I was walking next to that reason.**_

 _ **Judy…the rabbit I have known for over a decade, my best friend. When I had left for the war, I carried myself high and strong with the desire to protect those I cared for here in this land. Looking back at it now, I also realized that when I had departed that from BunnyBurrow that one dark and foreboding evening, I hadn't just left that part of my world behind. Like a man who moves away from the only house he's lived in his life, I felt like I left a part of myself behind. I felt that there was some ethereal part of my being that refused to leave, and when my body left what my heart cared for, it brought with it pain that seemed to follow me through the war. Fear that I would never see my best friend again, and fear that as I walked this road of duty and destiny, as the road grew longer and more weathered, that I would fail my promise to not only the Hopps, but to myself. After years of suffering from those around me, as the road became littered with the dying echoes of those who have fallen, and the memories of innocence from my youth faded away to dust and dreams, a light crested over the horizon of the road. It radiated with such familiarity and comfort that it pushed me forth when the world wanted to shove me down.**_

 _ **I finally realized what I had left behind, and what the light was that carried me home. I hadn't asked Judy to keep up hope for my safe return for her sake only, I had asked for her to wish for my return so that, as a lighthouse guides the boat around the shores of death to safety, that her hope would be my guide back home.**_

 _ **Now here I was. I felt my inner struggles and demons fleeing from me after all these years. I had been reunited with what I cared about so much before the war. I'm just glad me and Adam actually moved back to Zootopia. Now, not only can I try to give Adam a more normal life, but I can try to have one as well.**_

 _ **Of course, the Zootopia I returned to had changed greatly. For soon, both of us would meet an animal that reflected to me what mankind's actions have had on our neighbors. For Judy, however, it would make her realize that Zootopia was not as much of the perfect place as she had envisioned it to be.**_

* * *

Judy and Ben left the interior of Precinct 1 and found themselves greeted by the morning sun casting its glow between the concrete monoliths of the skyscrapers around them. Light in the hue of bright oranges and yellows mixed together around the surrounding Savanna Central to bring a warm atmosphere of new day to the citizens of Zootopia.

Judy and Ben went into the parking lot used by the precinct for holding their vehicles used for patrol and law enforcement response to emergency situations. The precinct kept these vehicles behind a fenced off area of the lot that Judy had to type in a code on an electronic keypad to the gate for it to unlock to let the duo in. The keypad emitted an electronic buzz as the metal gate slid open on its metal tracks. The two of them entered the isolated area and Judy started to look over the various sized and designed vehicles that all seemed quite imposing for her on her first day on the force. The young doe had seen plenty of these vehicles back at the academy during her training and had learned to operate all of the vehicles during her training.

"Alright, now to find the…meter maid vehicle" stated Judy with an outward false smirk of some sort. Ben looked at his friend and knew that something was still bothering her. He couldn't quite put his finger on what was going on. Her peppy aura of her can-do spirit that so often graced her being seemed to be suppressed by a sense of disappointment and minor anxiety. He assumed it was about her being stuck with a menial and less than honorary task of being a meter maid.

Ben then asked, "You still upset about the assignment Judy?"

She didn't even look at him as she then said, "I'm honestly not sure Ben."

She then went on to say as they slowly walked through the lot to find the meter maid vehicle that they were going to use. "I'm finally doing what I've dreamed of my whole life. I graduated top of my class and fought so hard to get to where I am now. Everybody kept on telling me that a bunny couldn't be a cop, and just when I felt that I would be making a difference in the lives of everyone in Zootopia, I get stuck with this."

Ben felt sorry for his bunny friend and said, "Hey, don't go beating yourself up Judy. The fact that you accomplished what nobody thought could be done speaks for itself. Even if you aren't saving lives on your first day, you're proving that in Zootopia anyone CAN be anything."

Judy looked up at her friend with an attentive stare as she was listening to what Ben was saying. However much attention she paid to what was said, his statement didn't speak much too how she felt about the situation.

Ben then put an arm around his friend and pulled her in for a friendly side embrace as he rubbed her shoulder slightly. He smiled at her and said, "That in and of itself is making a difference in the lives of everyone in the city. All the animals and humans with dreams of changing society, any part of it, now can publicly see that nothing that society says should stop them from leaving their mark on the world."

She looked up at him with a neutral expression and said solemnly, "Ben, I'm not sure if the first bunny cop being a meter maid is exactly very…inspirational."

He then nodded slightly and said, "True, but with time and a bit of your can do spirit, I know you can do far more as an officer than what you're doing now. Nobody ever said that fighting for what you believe in would be easy, but the reward at the end is worth it."

Ben stopped and motioned Judy in front of him and looked down at her with his hands on her shoulders. He then paused for a second and then said, "Just look at what the CF managed to accomplish during the Great Pangean Civil War. We entered that conflict knowing that the road towards victory would be long and bloody. We knew the stakes, but we also knew who were counting on us. The HR would have killed every animal and CF aligned human had we not stopped them. Because of our belief that animals should be treated with the same respect and honor as humans, we fought for our beliefs. What happened then? We won. We secured freedom and life for every animal and the CF. I fought in the war to ensure that Zootopia would be safe, along with everyone in it. Including you, Judy."

She was gazing up at him the entire time he was speaking as he then continued, "If an entire nation was able to change the world for the better and secure peace for Zootopia, then who's to say that a bunny can't change the world around her for the better? It starts with you, and before you know it, you'll be making the world a better place."

He two of them stood there for about a minute as they looked at each other in the eyes. Judy slowly cracked the biggest smile that Ben had seen in a long time since knowing her and she then said, "Your right. I guess I was so…shocked at being given such a menial role that I couldn't see what waits in the future. Thanks."

Ben hugged her back as he then said, "Your welcome Judy, be we should get going before your boss sees you dawdling."

They let go from each other as she then said, "Yeah, I got 200 tickets to write."

The two then proceeded to look for the vehicle they needed. Judy during the whole process was lost in her thoughts over the almost forgotten other half of what was bothering her since leaving the building that was the Precinct. She was still shocked at her boss's statement about Ben, almost like as if he expected him to be trouble. She knew that Ben would not be anything close to that, but the fact that the other officers were looking at Ben with such…caution and skepticism bothered her.

Finally, the two of them found the vehicle used for meter maids and their reactions were, to say the least, that of disbelief.

Judy stood in front of the vehicle and said out loud to no one in particular, "Are you kidding me…? This is what I'm driving?"

The vehicle was a three wheeled vehicle that had the chassis of a Tuk-Tuk (A three wheeled taxi cab), but the vehicle was adorned in police lights and caution signs saying "this vehicle makes frequent stops." The vehicle was mainly white while also sporting a sort of empty cargo area on the back for hauling traffic cones around. The vehicle cabin, which wasn't sealed from the outside, seemed that it would be a tight fit for the two of them, especially Ben.

Ben rubbed the back of his neck and said with a nervous chuckle, "Well, um…just remember what I said Judy. Before you know it, you'll be handling cases."

Judy shook her head in disbelief as she then said, "Yeah, I know. In a way, I'm glad it's just parking duty cause I'm able to bring you along today. It feels great to spend time together considering you only came back home yesterday. On the other hand, well, I think this speaks for itself right now."

Judy then paused as a small smirk spread on her muzzle as she then said, "Oh well, I got 200 tickets to do and something to prove. Let's get going."

The two of them climbed into the vehicle and Judy was right that it was a tight fit for the two of them together. Ben grunted as he tried to get comfortable inside of the vehicle. There was still some room between the two of them, but height wise, it was a tight fit for ben and didn't leave Judy with too much vertical room.

Judy started the vehicle and the small engine came to life, clearly not possessing any real power to it. Judy hit the accelerator and the vehicle started to lurch forwards slowly. She growled slightly as she hit the accelerator multiple times, the engine revving each time. Ben then chuckled and said, "It's in first gear Judy."

She looked down at the transmission to see that it was indeed in first gear. She mentally facepalmed as she then said, "Oh."

She shifted the gear to drive and the vehicle speed up, coming to full power for its small engine. The two of them at last were off and on their way. As they pulled onto the main street the police precinct connected to, Ben's cell phone started to ring. Ben reached into his pants pocket and pulled out his phone and noticed that the number had a contact name, "Adam Richardson"…Ben's son.

Ben then said with a surprise, "Oh shit."

Judy glanced at him with worry and then said, "What? What's wrong?"

Ben then said, "It's my son. I didn't expect him to be up this early, he's probably worried about where I went. I didn't leave a note or anything for him when I left this morning." Ben then paused and looked at her and said, "Plus, he has a fear of being abandoned. It's from his…past."

Ben then answered the phone and said, "Hey, Adam. What's wrong buddy?"

" _Dad, what's going on? I woke up cause of a nightmare and went to try to find you and you were gone. Are you okay? Where'd you go"_ asked Adam over the phone with a barrage of questions, with clear worry?

Ben then said calmly and soothingly to his son, "Yeah, Adam. I'm fine. There's nothing to worry about. I just went for a walk and ran into Judy this morning."

" _Oh"_ said Adam with relief in his voice. _"I thought something bad happened or you just…disappeared."_

Ben then said with a soft voice _, "Adam, you know I would never just abandon you. I love you too much to do that to you."_

Judy, meanwhile, was glancing at ben from time to time as she was listening to his side of the conversation, while able to barely hear his son over the phone.

Ben then said, "I'm out with Judy right now on her first day on the force. She's handling parking duty today." Ben then paused and said, "Hey, we're not that far from home Adam. Do you want us to swing by and pick you up? If so, then you need to start getting ready right now?"

Ben heard only dead air on the other end as he then suddenly heard a voice chip in with an excited and happy tone, _"Sure Dad. I mean, it sounds boring, but I want to hang out with you two today."_

Ben smiled at the fact that his son was looking forwards to spending time with him AND Judy today. Ben loved to see moments of excitement and happiness like this radiate from his son. It proved to Ben that despite what the HR had put the young bunny buck through that Adam still had it in him to enjoy life.

Ben then said to his son, _"Alright, but you need to start getting ready right now. Judy's on the job and we don't want to risk her job by keeping her waiting."_

Adam then said _"Yeah that would be bad. Alright, how long you guys going to be?"_

Ben then looked at the nearest crossroads and saw that they were currently only three blocks away. Ben then said, "About five minutes, son."

" _Alright, see you soon. Love you Dad"_ said the young buck.

Ben smiled as he then said, "Love you too, Adam. Bye."

" _Bye"_ said Adam just before the line went dead.

Ben put his phone away and looked at Judy who was beaming a huge smile at him. Ben looked at the bunny and she looked at him as they were stopped at an intersection. Ben gave a confused glare to her and asked, "Uh, what?"

Judy then rolled her eyes playfully and said with a smirk as she turned her head back forwards, "Oh nothing. You sound like you're a great dad, you know that right?"

Ben rubbed the back of his neck bashfully as he looked away from her, until something clicked in his head.

"Oh, Judy. I didn't even ask you if you had a problem with Adam coming along" he said in apology looking back at her.

She chuckled in response and said, "It's alright. To be honest, I look forwards to hanging out with your son. It'll give me a chance to get to know him."

… _And it'll let me get to see how much of a loving and caring man you are_ she thought to herself with a sort of dreaming haze.

She then shook that thought out of her head, _oh who am I kidding. If Ben did ever have feelings for me, they're probably long gone by now…unfortunately._ She let out a sigh at how disappointing the prospect seemed to her.

Ben meanwhile was smiling at Judy for a few seconds and then turned his head to look out the right side of the vehicle. He gazed at the sidewalks filled with animals and humans walking about.

 _Still the same fun loving and joyful bunny doe I fell in love with all those years ago_ thought Ben as he zoned out in his thoughts.

 _Too bad she probably doesn't feel towards me what I feel about her after so long_ Ben thought.

 _Damn fucking good job you idiot. Why didn't you come home sooner, maybe then there may have been something else between me and her_ he thought.

The light changed to green as Judy put her foot on the accelerator to keep them on their way, now heading to Ben's apartment a few blocks over.

Soon, the two of them pulled up to the curb next to the apartment building that Ben and Adam were staying at. They were greeted by the sight of Adam, who was already outside by the front doors of the building waiting for them.

He was surfing the internet on his iCarrot phone, when he looked up and saw his Dad and Judy pull up in a police vehicle of some kind.

Adam had to throw clothes on quite quickly and grabbed a few bites of some granola and fruit bar this morning before heading outside to meet the two of them. He was currently wearing a navy blue T-shirt and a pair of black dyed blue jeans. The bunny appeared to have had a little bit of a rough night to Ben and Judy, which made Judy seem a little worried about what was wrong and made Ben wonder how bad the nightmare his son had was.

Adam came over to the two of them and leaned into the vehicle to hug his Dad "hello."

"Hey guys, hope you're doing fine today" said Adam as he then looked into the vehicle and saw not a whole lot of space for him in the front seat. Adam then frowned and then said, "Are you sure there is enough room for me in there?"

Ben then said, "There should be. Trust me Adam, if I fit, then you should be able to fit as well."

Ben then climbed out of the vehicle to allow his son to climb in. Adam crawled over the seat slightly to sit next to Judy, who looked down slightly at the shorter male bunny and gave him a friendly smile. Adam looked away slightly after smiling to her as well.

Adam was not one of the most social kits out there, considering that the bunny had grown up with not very many friends as a kit, especially since part of his childhood was ruined by the war. Sure he had 2 or three friends since moving to Pangea five years ago with Ben, and one of them he kept in contact still with over Furbook, but he was not a very social guy. Mainly due to anxiety and times of PTSD, he preferred contact with his Dad and other beings that he was comfortable around.

Ben then climbed back in and the two of them then buckled back into the vehicle as Judy put her paw down on the accelerator and then the three of them were off, Judy starting on her morning rounds of parking tickets.

The drive so far was quiet as Judy marked the tires of the cars with chalk on the end of a large stick as she drove by to keep track of which cars were already on that street when she started. She had only given out a couple of tickets so far.

Judy had just gotten back in the car after putting a ticket on the window of a MOL Acacia, under the windshield wiper.

She then spoke up, "So Adam?"

The young buck looked up at the older doe and then asked, "Yeah?"

"How old are you, if you don't mind my asking" she asked him with a smile?

Adam smirked at her and said, "Thirteen. I'll be fourteen in two months."

Judy then said, "Really, my birthdays in two months as well."

Adam looked up at her and then asked with mild wonder and amazement, "Really, when."

She then said, "The eighteenth. You?"

Adam then said, "The First."

The two bunnies continued talking to one another, with Ben joining in every now and then. Judy had learned that Adam had a love for science, wanted to study ocean life as a career, and that he loved blueberries, just like her.

Then…she touched on a more…sensitive topic.

Judy had given permission for Ben to help her with ticketing cars on her patrol. While she had to be the one to print the tickets, Ben could put them on the cars as well as her.

Adam was walking with Judy, who had just finished printing a ticket for a KIA Soul, when she then asked Adam, "So Adam, what orphanage did Ben adopt you from?"

Adam froze in his place as he looked to the ground slightly. He couldn't help to be reminded of how he wound up in Ben's care. He was grateful for all the love, compassion and attention that Ben provided him, but he still hadn't forgotten about his mom…and the camp.

Adam started to shake slightly as he zoned out, thinking back to how scared and horrified he was in the camp day to day. Mean humans beating his mother and him, screams of pain and mercy as the HR guards tortured and abused the animals and humans held prisoner there. Adam couldn't help but be reminded of the smell of cooking animal flesh from the monsters of humans that were eating the prisoners. The suffering and agony that wisped its way through that camp crawled its way back to Adam's memories, all of the torture and abuse he was made to suffer himself. He had been assaulted by the guards a few times and was nearly molested by a guard. If it wasn't for his mother who screamed for them to get away from her son, he would have been sexually abused. Apparently even if the guards considered Adam to be an "abomination", they weren't past doing whatever sick and twisted acts that appeased their soulless nature. The human guards had pummeled his mother to within an inch of her life for protecting her son as she did.

Adam's eyes started to water as the thoughts brought him to tears. Judy heard sniffling behind her and turned to see Adam with his eyes closed and head downward as he cried quietly, shaking where he stood.

Judy's caring instinct kicked in and she hung her ticket printer off of her police belt and went over to Adam and crouched down in front of him.

"Honey, what's wrong" she cooed to the crying buck.

Adam said through sniffles, "He…he di…didn't adop..t me."

Judy was confused quite a lot at the buck's statement, until Adam then said softly, "He sav…saved me from those mean humans in the war. If he and the other soldiers hadn't arrived…"

That was as far as the buck got before he started sobbing.

Ben had just come over after putting a ticket on a Chevy Equinox for Judy, when he saw his son crying, and Judy crouched down in front of him. He jogged over to his son and then asked worried, "Adam, what's wrong son?"

Adam then said through sniffles, "…all of those animals…my mom…gone. I wish I just wouldn't remember it anymore. I want the nightmares to stop. I want the bad memories to go away. I want the pain to end."

Ben knew instantly what was wrong and grabbed his son by the underarms and lifted his son up for a hug, embracing his crying child. Adam held onto his Dad as he cried over the thoughts and memories.

"Oh, Adam. It's alright. Those bad men are long gone. You got nothing to be scared of anymore. I'm here hunny. No one will hurt you like that ever again" said Ben as he rubbed his son's back trying to calm him.

Ben looked at Judy and saw that she was giving him a look of total confusion and a blank stare. Ben then motioned over towards a bench near a curb and the three of them went over there to sit as Ben had some things to explain to Judy.

By now Adam had calmed down and was sitting next to Ben as he held onto his Dad from the side, Ben rubbing his son's back comfortingly.

Ben then looked at Judy who seemed to be waiting for an answer as to what had happened. He then sighed and said, "I think you should know a little bit about my son, and how I "adopted" him."

(10 minutes later)

"…I just couldn't let such a young, sweet and scared kit such as Adam wind up who knows where and under what conditions, so I vowed to take care of him and adopt him as my son, try to give him the help, love and compassion that he so desperately needed after the time in the camp. Then, well, here we are five years later" said Ben to Judy as Adam was now listening to his favorite song on his phone to try to calm him.

Judy couldn't believe her ears. It all felt so…distant. She had heard of those camps on the news after the war, but to actually hear firsthand what it was like. To hear what had been done, especially to innocent children, it broke her heart.

Judy then said softly as she stared out in the street, cars passing by, "I…I never would have guessed. I'm so sorry for making him remember that."

Ben put a hand on her shoulder and said, "You had no way of knowing. There are certain triggers that set Adam off. It may not look like it, but he's getting way better than he used to be with dealing with those memories."

Judy wanted to cry, and not just for what Adam had gone through. She wanted to cry for what Ben had selflessly done to touch the life of a broken child.

 _He's so caring and loving. To do what he did for Adam, it's just so…selfless…so merciful. To actually know a man who would do that for a random child…I just want to freakin' kiss you for that, Ben_ thought Judy.

Judy's admiration for Ben grew even more than it had in the past. She wanted to just hug the human and thank him for being the kind of person he is. She could feel the love that she had for Ben grow even more after hearing that. However, she didn't want to ruin their friendship by stating her feelings, especially too soon. She still had no idea if he ever had feelings for her anyways, and she didn't want to push it by asking this soon.

She then looked at Adam and tapped him on the shoulder. The Bunny then looked up at Judy as he pulled out his earbuds and she then said, "I'm so sorry for making you remember that Adam. I hope you can forgive me. Just know that as long as I'm around, I won't let anyone hurt you like that ever again either."

The look on the bunny buck's muzzle was one of surprise at first, but then it quickly grew to happiness and thanks as Adam then hugged Judy and said, "You're okay. My Dad was right. You're nice just like he is. Thank you."

Judy seemed a little surprised by the action but slowly hugged Adam in response for a few seconds before both parties ended it.

Judy then looked at the time and she gasped.

It was almost 9 A.M. She then looked at her ticket printer and saw that she was only at 20 tickets.

"Oh sweet cheese and crackers, Its almost 9 and I'm nowhere close to 200 tickets" she said in painful realization that she wasn't going to make her personal goal of 200 tickets.

Ben then looked at the time and confirmed what she was saying.

He then stood up and motioned Adam up as well, which the Buck had gotten up too. Ben then said, "Hey Judy, we still got time. If we work together, we can do it."

Judy then looked up at then from her slumped forwards position and then said, "Yeah, but I don't want you guys to have to do this work for me just for me to succeed at my job."

"Judy" began Ben.

Judy then said, "Ben, it was one thing when you placed a ticket on one car for me. It's another for you to help me do my job so I can meet my quota."

Ben then said once again, "Judy."

She then looked at him as she stopped talking.

He then said with a smirk, "Who's going to care. You even told me that I can put the tickets on the cars for you. I just can't print them out. If Adam and I help you, you'll make your deadline."

Judy then looked at the two, who seemed more than eager to help. She then sighed and said, "Fine, your right. I need the help right now anyways."

She then jumped off of the bench and grabbed her ticket printer as she then closed her eyes for a second and then looked up at him with a smile and said, "So are we partners now or something?"

Ben then smirked as he then said, "For now."

The three of them then devised how they were going to handle the situation, and once a plan was made, they then got to work.

Adam would keep his ears and eyes out for any meter that went off, since his hearing was as great as Judy's was. Ben would put the tickets on the cars as Judy printed them off, and Judy would handle the printing of the tickets.

They walked down the sidewalk next to their current road they were working on. Adam's ears shot up, as did Judy's when a meter went off halfway down the street, the pair able to hear it over background noise pollution of the city. Adam ran ahead and saw which car it was. It was a black Forlcon Freedom. Adam pointed it out to Judy saying, "The black Forlcon up ahead. Its meter went off."

Ben ruffled his son's head fur as he said, "Great ears, Adam."

To this, Adam beamed him a smile for the praise. Judy typed the info in the print and handed it to Ben, who immediately put it on the car window, under the wiper.

Judy nodded and said, "Yeah, this could work."

Then, another parking meter went off as Adam pointed out which one it was. Judy printed the ticket for the car and Ben stuck it on the window, under the wiper.

Then, a whole bunch of meters started going off around them. Judy then looked around and had an idea. She reached into her back pocket and pulled out a piece of white chalk. She told Adam to mark a tire visibly on each car that had the parking meter go off. He nodded and set to work as the other two looked at each other and nodded.

"Think you can go fast now…partner" said Judy with a playful smirk?

Ben cracked his knuckles and said, "Depends on if you can keep up."

Judy laughed slightly at Ben's playful acceptance of her own playful challenge as the two set out to handle the cars that Adam had just started marking after looking at time on their meters.

The three of them made their way towards a large vehicle meant to seat giraffes. Judy printed off the ticket and then looked at Ben, handing the ticket to him.

Judy then raised an eyebrow as if to question how Ben would put this one ticket on that car. Ben smirked and then crouched down. He then took off in a sprint and jumped up onto a mail box, the ticket now in his mouth. Keeping his momentum, he jumped off the mailbox to grab onto the vertical pole of a street light. Still keeping his momentum, he swung around twice before releasing his grip and throwing himself towards the vehicle. Ben grabbed the ticket out of his mouth as he then pushed up from landing on the side of the vehicle. He then pulled himself on the roof of the vehicle, leaving only a little dirt when his shoes touched the car. There wasn't even a dent when Ben had impacted the car. He then put the ticket on the window between him and the wiper. He then dived down off the car and rolled to a stop. He then stood up and smirked at Judy, looking behind him.

She was quiet surprised by how her friend had performed those moves so effortlessly. She smiled and the three of them went off towards the next vehicle. The three of them kept on tackling each vehicle as the meters went off. The number of tickets given kept on climbing further and further.

There were two cars that were parked next to one another, each one a small smart car that was parked by backing into the parallel parking space. The meters for both went off, the front windows facing the trio. Judy printed off the tickets and Ben stuck his hand out to grab them from Ben. She pulled her hand back and shook her head at Ben. He was confused at first, wondering what the bunny had in story for him. Judy then smirked and walked in between the cars. She then jumped up, putting in ticket between her left foot paw and a ticket in her right hand paw. In the air still, she gracefully with a look of pride, slid the tickets between the wiper and the window. She landed on her feet and then said with a playfully smug tone, "You ain't the only one with some moves, hotshot."

It was Ben's turn to smile at his bunny buddy.

 _Damn, no wonder she graduated top of her class at the academy. She's dedicated, graceful and well trained_ Ben thought impressed by Judy. _I wonder if she would have the skill to put my ass on the floor. Maybe she wouldn't mind a friendly sparring match someday_ he thought.

In the process of the three of them handling ticketing vehicles throughout Savanna Central, the three were too engrossed in their tasks to notice that there were a few animals and humans that were recording what they were doing on their smartphones, evidentially impressed by both Ben's and Judy's acrobatics. Plus the fact that a 13 year old bunny was involved in helping them added more to the wow factor of it.

Finally, after nearly three hours, the clock near the trio struck 12 o'clock with a "ding". Judy looked down at her ticket counter and saw the number on it.

"200"

"Oh my, we did it. 200 tickets before noon" cried out Judy with excitement.

Ben then said, "You're welcome for the help, Judy."

The female rabbit spun around and hugged Adam tightly as a show of thanks. The male rabbit was initially uncomfortable with the action, but then a smile spread on his muzzle as he then hugged her back.

Judy then, without hesitation and without thinking, then zoomed over to Ben and pulled his head down and planted a kiss on his cheek. Ben was frozen over the action as he tried to comprehend what had happened.

Judy, apparently now realizing what she had done, looked up at Ben as her muzzle changed from that of happiness to complete embarrassment mixed with both joy and shock. She then stared wide-eyed at Ben as she then said, "Uh…hee, um sorry about that Ben. I just wanted to say thanks for helping."

Ben slowly looked down at Judy and said, "Oh, uh…It's fine."

The two of them couldn't really process what had happened. Judy was worried that she had made a move that would be considered "too friendly" too quickly. She was worried that she disturbed Ben with her actions. While she had meant to give the kiss in thanks, she let her emotions and pent up feelings for Ben slip through into the kiss, making it a bit more passionate than it should have been. Ben meanwhile was trying to comprehend why she had done that. The kiss felt like that of gratitude to him, but he couldn't help but feel that there was more hidden under the surface of it. It was easy to dismiss it as just Judy being too caught up in the moment, but he knew this wasn't the first time she had kissed him.

To Ben, he wasn't sure what to make of it. He thought maybe, just maybe, there was the slim chance that she did indeed feel something more for him. Inwardly, he smiled over it, but he was already too grateful that Judy had welcomed him back into her life as a friend again after his long absence. He didn't want to push anything by asking about it, no matter how much he wanted to now. The two of them had turned away slightly from each other, trying to avoid eye contact as non-chalet as possible.

Adam was both happy for his Dad and Judy as much as he was slightly disgusted. Like most kids his age, kissing was seen to him as a little…gross. He never minded his Dad kissing him as it was his Dad. He did however find it somewhat gross for Judy to kiss his Dad. Looking away from what had happened out of the minor disgust for it; Adam noticed a peculiar animal walking down the sidewalk opposite of them. A few other pedestrians were on the sidewalk around this particular animal, but they parted enough for Adam to see the animal more clearly.

Adam then called out to his Dad and Judy, "Hey guys, what's that guy doing?"

Ben and Judy turned to see a Red American Fox walking down the sidewalk. He seemed to be just acting normally, but then stopped outside an ice cream parlor tailored towards bigger animals like condors, hippos, rhinos and alligators. He looked around as if checking out for watching eyes, or maybe somebody in particular. He then walked over towards the door of the ice cream parlor and followed in behind an elephant that had opened the door for the building.

Both Ben and Judy looked at one another and they knew that something seemed a bit fishy. Ben then said, "I'll be behind you Judy, just on second."

Judy nodded and ran across the street and went to look in the window of the parlor. She couldn't see where the fox in question had gone to, and then said to herself, "Where'd he go?"

She then pulled the door open to head inside.

Meanwhile, Ben was crouched down in front of his son as he then said, "Adam, I need you to go wait in the patrol vehicle."

Adam seemed a little concerned as his posture changed to that of somebody in concern and fear. He then pulled his paws close to his chest and asked, "What's going on, Dad?"

Ben then tried to reassure his son that nothing was wrong.

"Judy and I will be right back; we just need to go talk with somebody that went into that store. Just stay in the vehicle and wait for us to come back out. I promise it won't be long and I'll be fine."

"Okay, Dad" said Adam to his father.

Ben then kissed his son on the forehead and said, "Go on, champ. I'll be back."

The bunny went back to the vehicle to wait for the two of them to return. Ben knew he had a clear line of sight to the vehicle from inside the store, so he wasn't concerned for his son being out of sight on less than busy road. There were other pedestrians walking about besides anyways, as well as other cars driving past.

Ben then ran across the street to the parlor and felt under his jacket that he was wearing, since he left the house when it was cool this morning. He had a little reassurance if things got dangerous inside. Ben looked in his jacket to see his Colt in his holster he carried concealed under his jacket. He hoped things wouldn't come to need to have to use it, but he liked it for safety sake.

Ben opened the door to the parlor and stepped inside. Ben noticed immediate glares from some of the patrons of the parlor, mostly from the prey that were in here. A few elephants and a few hippos gave Ben glares of caution and nervousness.

Ben then heard the voice of a male then talking. He then walked forwards a bit and peered around some of the patrons in line to see a fox that would stand up to the bottom of his neck in height. The fox seemed to be in line, the next customer actually, with a little fox kit in what looked like a costume or PJ's of some sort. The fox looked up at Ben as the red fox was talking and just sucked on his pacifier twice while giving Ben a blank glare mixed with wonder, like that a child should his age.

The red fox meanwhile was saying, "Do you want the red or the blue pal?

The red fox motioned the smaller Fennec fox kit forwards a bit and the little kit padded over on unsteady feet towards a display case of monstrously huge Jumbo Pops, frozen treats made for large animals, mainly elephants.

The kit put his paws on the glass and looked at both choices before picking the cherry red flavor one, pointing to it silently looking back at the red fox.

Ben then tried to look around for Judy, but he didn't want to give away her presence if what was going on was meant to be a distraction of some sort. Ben had been dealt with his fair share of deception, distractions and ambushes from hostile combatants both during and after the Pangean Civil War. Granted that this wasn't a conflict zone, the principles of how to approach a situation like this is very similar.

Ben scanned the surroundings for where she may be, but still couldn't find her, and this worried Ben.

Ben then heard a familiar voice then speak up quietly saying, "I'm such a-."

Ben whipped around as passively as he could so not to draw attention and saw that Judy had just put the buckle back into something on her police uniform belt and was now walking away. Ben then walked over towards Judy and came up behind her. He then cleared his throat behind her, which caused Judy to look behind her and she saw Ben standing there.

She then said quietly, "I can't believe I was about to do what I was going to do."

Ben was confused about what she said when a voice spoke up behind him. Ben turned around and saw that the elephant behind the counter who worked here was now talking to the two foxes.

"Oh, come on kid, back up," the Elephant said to the little fox child, before looking back down to Nick, "listen, buddy, what? There aren't any fox ice cream joints in your part of town?"

It was there that Judy's ears popped up to listen in on the conversation between the two parties. Ben had a look of shock over the somewhat speciest thing that he was hearing. That same type of talk, distinguishing between "us" versus the "other" was what gave birth to the HR, what caused the war that claimed so many lives, man and animal, and what led to the death camps. The discrimination of the likes that he was hearing was starting to make him angry. This was the premise behind why he fought in the war. To protect the CF and Zootopia from forces that would tear it apart, including speciesism.

"Uh, no-no, there are, there are." Nick said, as his son began to waddle back to his dad.

"So why don't you get something like that for your kid, huh?" Jerry said, a bit rudely, "'Cause a Jumbo Pop? He can't eat all that!"

Nick then tried to explain as he said, "But he's been looking forward to it for weeks and-"

"Look, pal, he's not gonna finish it, it's gonna drip all over the place and I have to be the one to clean up your kid's mess!" Jerry grumpily stated, Judy hearing the conversation carefully.

"So why don't you go somewhere else for little guys like you?" he asked.

"I know, but it's just that, my boy, this goofy little stinker," Nick explained, ruffling his son's head, "he loved all things elephant, he wants to be one when he grows up."

To proof that, Nick's son waddled a bit then put on an elephant hoodie (which his eyes still showed, while the rest of his head was wrapped up in the outfit) then blew a cute toot of a party blower, to be like a cute elephant toot.

"Isn't that adorable?" Nick asked happily.

Judy 'awed' quietly at this cute kid, who had such an impossible dream, how could anyone say no to that? Even Ben was a little moved by such a dream that the Fennec kit had. He supported Judy when everyone said that a bunny couldn't make it as an officer, and he now saw that she proved everyone wrong.

"Who the heck am I to crush his little dreams, huh? Right?" Nick asked to Jerry, as his son waddled back to hug his leg, leaning his head on it.

Unfortunately, Jerry was not very moved, "Look, you probably can't read, fox," he said, as he brought up a sign and said, "but the sign says "We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone" so beat it!" This made Judy very upset that she could believe what the owner was saying.

"You're holding up the line" said an elephant lady customer, who was getting a bit impatient, as she moved forward bit, nudging Nick to move. Hearing all this, Nick's son suddenly began to cry in the form of a sad toot.

Deciding to step in for the nice fox family, Judy walked up towards the counter, "Hello, excuse me?" she said, instantly gaining Nick's attention as he turned to see her, his son following suite, while Jerry spotted her.

Ben was behind her, waiting to back up Judy if she needed it, but he had no doubt that his clever bunny buddy would have trick up her sleeve here.

"Hey, you're gonna have to wait your turn just like everyone else, meter maid." Jerry said, grumpily.

"Miss, I don't want any trouble, I just-" Nick said nervously, before being cut off by a pat on his wrist by Judy.

"Actually, sir, I'm an officer," Judy said, showing her badge to the café owner, before turning to Nick as she whispered with a smile, "don't worry sir, I'll handle this."

"Mr. Jerry Jumbeaux Jr.?" She asked the elephant.

"Yeah, that's me," Jerry replied, "What is it?"

"Just a quick question," Judy said, before speaking up clearly if anyone were listening, "are your customers aware… they're getting snot and mucus with their cookies and cream?"

An elephant couple were basically enjoying their shared said ice cream, upon the minute Judy said that, the male elephant reacted by instantly spitting out the ice cream with his trunk… spraying it all over his mate's face!

Jerry looked at what happened then turned back to Judy, all the while, Nick watched with small bit of interest.

"What are you talkin' about?" Jerry asked.

"Well, I don't wanna cause you any trouble but, I believe scooping ice cream with an ungloved trunk is a class-three health code violation." Judy explained, as she said that Jerry turned to his employee, who froze with wide eyes as he was doing just that, then dropped the scoop, whipped the trunk on his apron and, while nervously grinning, sheepishly walked away.

"Which is kinda a big deal." Judy continued, as Jerry turned back to the bunny officer, "Of course I can let you off with a warning if you glove those trunks and, I don't know," she then stood next to Nick, gesturing to him and his son, as the fox saw that the bunny was kindly helping him out, "finish selling this nice dad and his son a…" she then turned to Nick as she asked, "What was it?"

"A Jumbo Pop. Please." Nick said politely.

"A Jumbo Pop." Judy also said kindly, with Nick's son giving a happy toot in reply.

The Elephant then said to Judy, "I'll gladly take the health citation, cause I'm not going to sell a Jumbo pop to this fox for his son to dirty up my store. Its Zootopia business law that we have the right to refuse service to anyone. So, I'm refusing service to this shady hound."

The Elephant stood his ground, glaring at Judy, who now seemed like she was out of ideas. The Elephant would rather let his pride be his downfall apparently.

That was when Ben stepped in. Ben then said, "Sir, it would be wise to take up on her offer." Ben then walked over towards the counter to stand next to Judy, having his friends back.

The Elephant then groaned loudly, "For the love of peanuts, is there anyone else we want to add into this now. Maybe the Mayor while we're at it?"

The elephant then looked at Ben and glared with the human, saying, "Why should I, you going to kill me if I refuse, human."

By now, several animals were recording the confrontation on their phones, wondering where this would go.

Ben's hands tightened to fists until they cracked, but he knew he had to keep his anger in check for various reasons, especially the one standing right next to him.

Ben then had an idea.

He then smugly leaned on the counter and said, "Oh no, there's no need for that. I mean after all, it seems that specieist talk is part of your normal reputation with customers." Ben then looked away with a small chuckle and said, "Funny, I thought animals by now would realize that speciesism is what threatened to destroy Zootopia five years ago…or have we all forgotten the HR, the death camps and the fact that CF soldiers gave their lives, my entire squad included, to protect Zootopia from destruction."

The elephant by now was starting to look nervous a bit as he looked back and forth between Ben and Judy.

Ben then said, "Maybe I should bring it up with city hall that a native born human of Zootopia, a Captain in the CF military, as well as a ZPD police officer, were victims of belligerence by a store owner within Zootopia. I have connections in high places within the CF, who in turn have connections with City Hall. It would be a shame for this place that serves so many upstanding animals to be shut down because the owner mistreated a ZPD officer and a CF military Captain, all over a stupid Jumbo Pop."

"Now if you were to sell this gentlefox a jumbo pop, I'm willing to let his who think slip behind us" Ben said smugly.

Ben then leaned against the counter and said, "So what's it going to be there, Jerry?"

Groaning with both annoyances, knowing that he would end up in trouble if he declined, Jerry gave in, "Fifteen dollars."

"Thank you so much." Nick said, before he turned to Judy with a warm smile and kindly said, "Thank you." He then looked at Ben and gave a "Thank you" as well.

While Judy made a playful hello to Nick's son, the father fox prepared to get out his wallet, then his happy face fell into a baffled relization as he felt his pockets, "Oh no, are your kidding me? I don't have my wallet!"

Judy noticed this as Nick then gave small little chuckle of small disappointment as he said, "I'd lose my head if it weren't attached to my neck. That's the truth." He then knelt down to his son with much compassion as he spoke "I'm sorry, pal. Gotta be the worst birthday ever."

"Aww, it's his birthday?" Judy said with a silent gasp and bit of sadness in her voice.

"It is, the big 4." Nick said happily, giving his son a pat on the head, "This little tyke has been through so much, I just wanna make him happy."

The little fox let out a sad little toot as it lowered his head, only for Nick to tilt his head up a bit with his finger as he said, "So sorry, kiddo, it'll be alright," he then cupped both hands on his son's face as he compassionately said playfully, "please don't be mad at me." Then kissed his son's forehead.

"Thanks anyway." Nick said to Judy, as he hold his son's hand as they began to leave, the son pointing back to the Jumbo Pop it wanted, only to sadly drop his head down.

Judy saw this and decided to do the kindest thing, even though they were foxes, it was no right to treat them badly.

Ben himself really wanted to help them as well, but he had no wallet since he left the house to go out only for a walk this morning, just to end up here now.

"Sir, wait." Judy said to Nick, as she got their attention as they turned to her, before turning back to the counter and placed a 20 dollar note on it, then looked to Jerry as she said, "Keep the change."

Ben smiled at Judy for her selfless act as Judy smiled and also raised an eyebrow implying, "You have some explaining to do later."

Ben inwardly gulped knowing that this might go any number of ways.

The four of them left the parlor, Ben and Judy feeling happy with what they have done.

"Officer, Captain, I can't thank you enough," Nick said to Judy and Ben as they stopped to speak, "so kind, really, can I pay you back?"

"Oh no, my treat," Judy said, shaking her head kindly, "it's just-you know it burns me up to see folks with such backward attitudes towards foxes." She confessed, before looking to the fox happily as she said, "I just wanna say you're the most kindest, most compassionate fox I've ever met, who's a great dad and just a… a real articulate fella."

"You really mean it?" Nick asked, who was quite surprised but also happy to hear that.

Judy nodded as she said, "Every word of it."

"Aw, well that is high praise, and that coming from a rabbit, no less." Nick said, felling so touched, "It's rare that I find someone so non-patronizing. Officer…"

"Hopps. Judy Hopps." Judy introduced herself as she tipped her hat, "Mr…"

"Wilde. Nick Wilde." Nick introduced back, as the two shook paws.

It's not everyday that two natural enemies, being a fox and a rabbit could get along well.

"Pleasure to meet you, Nick Wilde." Judy said.

"Nice to meet you too, Judy Hopps." Nick replied back.

Nick then said, "And to whom are you, my human friend?"

Ben then said, "Benjamin Richardson, Mr. Wilde."

Judy then looked down to Nick's son as she spoke, "And you little guy, I've got a little birthday present for you, you wanna be an elephant when you grow up? You be an elephant." She then got out a Zootopia Police sticker, which said "Junior Detective" on it and placed it on his elephant outfit, "Because this is Zootopia. Anyone can be anything."

Nick's son gave Judy a cute toot as a way to say thank you.

"Ah, boy, I tell him that all the time." Nick said happily, before giving the Jumbo Pop to his son, "Alright, here you go, two paws."

The little fox did what he said, and got hold of the big ice lolly, while he wobbled a bit, he still hold on to it tightly.

"Yeah, aw, look at that smile," Nick said, as his son, though not seen through the elephant mask, made the cutest smile ever, "that is a happy birthday smile."

Judy giggled at this until Nick spoke, "Alright, kiddo. Give the nice officer and Captain a little bye-bye toot-toot!"

Nick's son did just that, with Judy happily replied with a "Toot-toot!" and a chuckle as the two foxes made their leave. Ben had replied with a "take care."

"Bye now!" Nick happily said.

"Goodbye!" Judy replied, as she and fox family went their separate ways, with the rabbit having a smile in her step as she happily learned that she had made a new friend out of Nick and his son.

And she was quite looking forward to seeing them again soon. The two went back over towards the patrol vehicle, where Adam was patiently waiting.

* * *

 _ **I really felt like I had done the right thing for that fox father and his little kit. I truly feel that nobody deserves to face specism in the day when our two worlds are supposed to be united in support for our two worlds now as one. While I was nearly ready to rip the tusks off of that elephant and shove them up his ass, I managed to maintain my cool, while still helping out a father who was facing such bitter discrimination. However, I knew that my efforts to help him and his kit did come with a price. I had let too much slip that I wasn't ready to in front of Judy. I hoped to keep my still active service a secret long enough until I felt that our relationship had recovered enough to let her know that, while Adam and I may be living in Zootopia now, it didn't mean that I was done with the military life.**_

 _ **Now, I knew that Judy knew that there was something amiss about my late appearance in Zootopia. Even though I couldn't tell her about my black ops work, I did have to confirm to her that I was indeed still in the military and it wasn't a show put on display for that dick trunked elephant. What's worse, I feared that I would perhaps indeed have to explain what had kept me away for so very long, and I could feel myself ready to hide my head in the sand after thinking that every time. I didn't want to have Judy back in my life, only for her to run from me once she sees how much I've changed.**_

 _ **For the moment anyways, I was in the clear. I knew that I would later have to share with Judy more about my past. That however was for a different time. She, Adam and I were still out on her parking duty shift, still helping her out. I thoroughly enjoyed spending the day with her and my son together. However, once her shift brought her to Sahara Square, that's when things got weird…like really weird…**_

* * *

Sahara Square

Ben, Adam and Judy continued onward after the encounter with the fox father named Nick Wilde and his son. After Judy's patrol was finished in Savanna Central, the three of them had moved onwards to Sahara Square, the blazing hot district of Zootopia also known for its scenic nightlife, which included Casinos, Nightclubs, and Bars. Currently, the streets of Sahara Square were more active with early afternoon traffic as the citizens of Zootopia, as well as tourists, were out on their daily activities of life.

Judy had pulled her patrol vehicle off to the side of one of the busiest main avenues in Sahara Square, as she had a ticket that she needed to print for an expired meter for a Ford F-150 Pickup Truck. Ben was leaning against a nearby light post as he fiddled with his dog tags in his right hand, examining them as if in deep thought. The shiny metallic engraved surface of the tags reflected light brilliantly back into the surrounding air. Ben still couldn't get over the problems that Zootopia seemed to face now, mainly with the specieist talk around the city. Not only a few years after the end to the Great Pangean Civil War had society seemed to forget the reason as to why the CF had sunk as much manpower and resources into the conflict as it did. The very core of what brought our two worlds closer together, no matter how bloody, was chucked aside into memory.

Safety, stability, and freedom for all in the CF and Zootopia. This was the goal, to ensure that no animal or human would have to suffer under the yolk of persecution, discrimination, and hate.

It infuriated Ben to see all the nobility of it be wasted in vain, especially when the thoughts of his old squad, Echo, came marching back into the forefront of his mind.

Ben still could remember all of the somber and broken people and animals when he had attended the service for all of his fellow squad mates. The sobbing and wailing as the families' loved ones, and his fellow comrades, were lowered in their caskets to their final resting places as the proud and victorious symbol of the CF flag laid gracefully on each casket.

Ben, upon putting his dog tags away, felt another chain that he wore around his neck, under his T-shirt. Ben pulled the chain out and looked at the pendant attached so proudly to the stainless steel chain. Ben held the pendant in his hand and was reminded of his final promise of the war, one that he carried on burdened and hardened shoulders to this very day.

It was a solid steel Spartan helmet shaped pendant, with an engraving on the back. Ben read the words as though they were his mission to carry out what was written which to him, his own personal mission.

 _For glory and peace, we stood as one._

 _For honor and duty, not one shall be forgotten._

Ben rubbed his thumb over the engraving and felt memories of his squad flash back through his mind: Smiling faces, laughter from jokes, times when one of Echo fell in battle, a real struggle of battle or a struggle of their own, and the others picked them up carrying them to victory. It all cumulated into one final memory, a photo that a fellow soldier had taken of Ben and his squad, standing proudly in uniform as a squad. Some of his fellow squadmates had their arm over someone else's shoulder. Some of them held their guns pointed in the air in semi-heroic and joking poses. Even one soldier, Bill, did "bunny ears" over Victor's head. This caused Lincoln and Franko to look at Bill out curiosity at first and then humor later over the action Bill did.

His squad looked so…happy, so…attached to one another. To Ben, however, it was something a bit more than just a photo. It was a deeper image within the surface of the photo.

They were like a family to one another.

Ben realized this after the unfortunate death of his squad. He just chalked it up to a "not realizing how much you valued something until it's gone" type of feeling.

As Adam was sitting in the patrol vehicle, playing a game on his phone, Ben looked over towards the rabbit and gazed at his son. Ben started to question if it was by some twist of fate that the universe had put Adam into Ben's life to replace his "war family" he would soon very quickly lose after finding the little kit in the camp, or if perhaps it was a sign to him that there was to be something bigger in store for his life after the war.

As the saying goes "one chapter closes and another one opens", Ben wondered if this was a sign that losing one family doesn't mean he shouldn't start again. He already had Adam in his life, and Ben didn't regret his son entering his life for a second, he only wished that he was able to give his son a more normal life than he had been able to so far.

That was when Ben looked over at Judy. The two of them have been inseparable since childhood, and Ben felt his feelings for Judy grow more and more over the years from her absence. While there was pain mixed in with the longing for those feelings, he knew there was something missing. Perhaps…this was the universe providing what had been missing for Ben.

Ben's thoughts were interrupted when he heard Judy yell out, "Oh, hey little toot too…" Judy trailed off her sentence as she was struck shocked by something. Ben looked up and saw quite a peculiar sight not too far away from them.

By a rain gutter for one of the Adobe buildings, there were several glass jars of notable size standing upright, most already filled with some red liquid. It was too light to be blood, but it was still red. Interestingly, the Fennec fox child from earlier was pushing one of the jars into position over the exit of the gutter as red liquid poured out of it. Ben looked up and was quite confused by what he saw.

Up on the Mediterranean style roof was none other than the American Red fox from earlier, Nick Wilde. He was currently wearing aviator shades on the rooftop as he had the almost melted remains of the jumbo pop from earlier propped up on some makeshift platform. The red fluid from the cherry jumbo pop drained down the roof shingling and into the gutter. Nick had whacked the pop twice gently on the platform to get off the last little bit of the pop. He then chucked it off the roof and slid down the shingles towards the gutter, the shingles making clacking sounds as he slid. He then descended the gutter as if it was a fireman's pole. Ben and Judy both stared perplexed at what was going on as Ben walked up towards Judy, but didn't want to speak up himself to see the full extent of what was going down.

Nick and his son gathered the jars after capping them and loaded them into an old junker looking van. They got into the van and the vehicle started with a smoky backfire of the engine. The van then took off down the street as Ben and Judy looked into van to see, of all things, Nick's kit driving it, sucking occasionally on his pacifier.

Ben's mouth dropped in total shock as Judy looked back towards Ben. The two of them looked at each other in confusion. Ben said, "What the fuck was that?"

Judy looked down at the ground glancing around rapidly with her eyes as she then said, "I…I don't know. How the heck could a kit be driving a van?"

Ben then said in surprise, "That's your only question, Judy?"

She then said, "No…" She then looked back at her patrol vehicle for a few seconds before she said, "But why don't we find some answers."

Ben replied, "Think we can catch up with them? I mean, we don't even know where they are going."

Judy smirked and said, "Oh, I think I might have a suspicion. They seem to be heading for the tunnel to TundraTown."

Ben and Judy ran towards the car and got in, letting Adam know that they were following someone that seemed suspicious. He was, at first, scared that there was going to be trouble. To this, Ben and Judy assured him that there was no danger.

At least, not seemingly anyways.

Later, Ben and Judy had managed to track the particular van that they had say Nick and his son drive away in earlier to a small side street in TundraTown.

Judy stopped the patrol vehicle behind from the van as the three of them started searching for the two foxes to find answers as to that they were doing. In the freezing air of the TundraTown district, Judy walked over towards a stone fence that marked the edge of a snow covered park. She looked out into the frozen white expanse and saw movement out in the park. Judy made a sharp whisper loud enough for Ben to hear, "Ben, over here."

Ben turned around from looking down a frozen alley across the street from his, able to hear Judy from being close enough in earshot. He walked over towards Judy and took cover next to the stone fence. He peeked over cover on his knees and saw that Nick was in the frozen, wintery park with his son. What perplexed the two of them was the fact that Nick had one of the jars filled with red liquid from earlier in his paws. He poured a little of the liquid into paw print shaped steps in the ground made by the no longer presumably Fennec fox kit. The Fennec was walking very well coordinated, even more so than what a child his age should be walking. He was making two paw prints in a row and then leaving a popsicle stick over each paw print.

 _What are you up to Nicky boy_ thought Ben as he watched the whole scene before him.

After a long while, the pair had collected the frozen popsicles into a large cooler and had collected their other things, they began to roll the cooler back up towards the exit of the park.

Judy and Ben quickly looked at each other, knowing that they had to hide. Ben crouch walked over towards a mailbox and ducked behind it.

Judy on the other hand had ducked behind a snow covered sedan, just in time for the fox duo to walk past them to their van.

They loaded their things into the van, including the cooler and started the car, driving off with the engine backfiring again.

Judy looked out from behind the car and motioned for Ben to follow her. He obliged and the two of them went back to the patrol vehicle, eager to follow the orange-ish junker van.

Judy drove the two of them towards the tunnel entrance that would put them out back in Savanna Central. She tried to keep up with the van, but eventually lost it from stopping at a red light at an intersection.

Judy groaned as she lifted her paws and head towards the roof of the vehicle as she then said, "Darn it, we lost them. She then tapped her head once hard on the steering wheel as she said, "They could be anywhere."

Ben tried to figure out where on earth the two foxes could be heading off to. However, Ben got his answer as way in the distance, Ben caught a glimpse of orange from the suspect van as it turned left onto another street. Ben couldn't read the sign from here for the street, but he had a hunch where the road would take them.

Ben quickly pointed with his finger and said, "Judy, they went left, I saw them. I think they might be heading for the financial district."

The light turned green ten seconds later, which Judy took advantage of by stepping on the accelerator and the vehicle drove forwards towards the street the two turned off on.

The three of them followed the road towards the financial district of Savanna Central. Eventually the three of them came to a stop on an overpass. Judy pulled the vehicle to the side of the road and turned off the engine. The three of them climbed out of the vehicle and started looking around, using the overpass for a height advantage.

Adam scanned the area beneath them for the van he knew his dad and Judy were chasing. He quickly saw the van stopped off on the side of a main avenue beneath them. Adam then said, "Down there, I see the van."

Ben and Judy looked over beneath them, and Adam pointed to the Van below them. Just as they looked down there, the very same red fox they had been chasing pushed a large, wheeled cooler out of the back of the Van. It was the same cooler from the frozen park in TundraTown before. The fox had attached a sign to the front of the cooler that read, "Pawpsicles, 2 Dollars".

The fox smacked his lips a little bit as the clock that was attached to a pole near him struck 5 p.m. It dinged 5 times as a line of Lemmings started to leave a nearby office building. Nick stood there with a paw on his hip and a half-lidded gaze as he then shouted, "Pawpsicles! Get your Pawpsicles!"

One of the Lemmings let out an enticed squeak as it began to walk over towards Nick. The other Lemmings were following suit. Nick began, at the speed of a factory assembly line worker, collect 2 dollars from each Lemming and hand each one a Pawpsicle. The little mammals began to chew at the Pawpsicles at a rapid pace, when each one was done, the line of the little creatures threw their stick in an attached series of three green recycling bins of three separate heights. As soon as the line passed, Ben knew what had happened.

He and Judy had been swindled by a con-artist. A con-artist who was using the Jumbo Pop that they had "persuaded" that specieist elephant to give to the red fox for his son, and taking it to make smaller "pawpsicles" to sell for money.

Ben felt betrayed by the seemingly innocent red fox, and was going to go down there to make his point known to the lying, sludge sucking red fox.

Ben started to walk towards a set of stone stairs that would take him down to Nick's level. Suddenly, Ben heard a loud "bang" as the access door for the wheeled bins inside the stationary, larger green recycling bins was kicked open.

Ben stopped in his tracks and watched along with Judy and Adam as the smaller Fennec, who was no longer presumed to be a child, was wheeling the bin over towards the van they had arrived in. Nick had opened the doors to the back of the van and lowered a metal ramp for the Fennec to wheel the bin into the back of the vehicle.

Judy still seemed more perplexed about what was going on than mad at this point, while Ben was ready to head down there and demand some answers.

The pair got in their van and a few moments later, the vehicle started up and they drove off towards the south side of Savanna Central, where the only notable places of interest there was the Serengeti Shopping Mall, and Little Rodentia.

Ben, Judy and Adam climbed back into the patrol vehicle and headed off on their own towards the south side of the district.

The three of them were trying to turn left to head the same direction that the two foxes had gone.

Ben looked at Judy for a second before he turned back to the road and said, "So…some first d…." He was trying to make light of the situation since this was Judy's first day on the force, and between meter maid duty and now this whole fiasco, she was probably pretty upset.

That was an understatement.

"Oh, shut up Ben" she said coldly, which made Ben lean away from her in his seat in shock. He was certainly not expecting that type of response from her.

Adam was just as shocked at Judy's outburst. He stuttered for a few seconds, trying to find the right words. He finally said, "You alright Judy?"

The older rabbit glanced at Adam and said, "No, I'm not alright. You wanted to know, there you know."

Adam looked upset by the way she was responding to him. The bunny buck looked like he was stuck in a bag of emotions right now, and so, he just looked at his feet sullenly as he didn't say anything else.

If this was anyone else who was pulling this in front of Ben and his son, Ben would tell them to sack up and get over this pissy attitude. However, this was Judy. Ben cared for Judy, and he knew she was having problems right now.

Ben then calmly spoke to her in an effort to calm her and get the reason for this out of her, "Judy, we both know that who you are right now isn't the real you. We're just trying to help you. If somethings bothering you, then let us help you."

Judy came to a stop at an intersection as she rested her head on the steering wheel for a few moments. She breathed slowly and deeply as if she was trying to calm herself. She then looked up again and said, "I know this isn't me, and I'm sorry to the both of you. This is just so farging frustrating, you guys have no idea. I always wanted to make the world a better place ever since I was a little girl, and I thought I had made a difference in the lives of a father and his son today by standing up for injustice. What do I get for it?"

She looked over at Ben as she seemed to be approaching the cusp of crying, "I get stabbed in the back for trying to do the right thing. Even if they are just dumb, random foxes, it's still the principle to me. I can't believe how this day is going so far."

The light turned green as Judy put her paw down on the accelerator and the patrol vehicle lurched forwards as it speeds up slowly.

She then said with a sigh, "I don't know if this is a sign that I made a mistake being a police officer, or if this is a sign that maybe there is some truth to specieist talk? A fox that appeared to be innocent turned out to be a lying and shifty con-artist. Who knew, right?"

She laughed that last part with a halfhearted sarcastic chuckle.

Ben reached over and put a hand on Judy's shoulder and said, "Judy, don't even say that. You and I both know that there is no logic to specieist talk. Everybody thought that you were going to follow in your parent's pawsteps and become a carrot farming bunny, but look at you now. You a strong willed and amazing mammal who challenged the status quo of society and came out in the end as the one who showed you can follow your dreams, no matter how farfetched you think they are."

Judy sighed lightly and said, "Yeah, I know Ben. The question though is will this all be worth it at the end."

The trio came to the edge of Little Rodentia, where they saw the foxes' van parked outside the wall, in an area near a larger sized entry to Little Rodentia. City laws prohibited animals for a certain size from accessing Little Rodentia, other than law enforcement. The reason being had to do with fear of harm that would come upon the rodents inside if an animal, such as an elephant, was allowed access. The risk of rodents being stepped on from larger animals was the problem.

Judy and Adam were small enough that the law didn't prohibit them from entry. Ben was able to enter past the CF soldiers that were guarding entry into the "city within a city", because of his military credentials.

The "city" of Little Rodentia was nowhere near as big as that of the City of Zootopia. That said, it was still sizable enough that the three didn't have to walk for too long, watching their feet to not step on any of the rodents that scurried around them, before they found their two suspect foxes.

Ben was the first to notice their presence near a construction site when he saw the fennec still dressed in the elephant costume he was wearing the entire day. Ben then whispered to Judy and Adam, "Shit, duck in here."

Ben stopped abruptly before he said that as he then directed Judy and Adam to take cover in the grass near them. The grass was tall enough to hide them all when they went prone. The three of them crawled on their hands/paws and knees to the edge of the grass to look out enough to hide their presence, but still see what the fox was up to.

"Lumber delivery" cried out Nick as he set down a huge bundle of the "Pawpsicle" sticks from earlier.

The foreman on the job, who was currently operating a rodent sized forklift, jumped out of his seat and climbed onto the front of the forklift and looked at Nick after he noticed the "lumber."

Nick hesitated for a second or two before saying, "Color? Uh…Its red wood."

The mouse seemed to be satisfied with the answer after looking at the lumber for a few seconds before he said, "Right. Hey Jerry, Benny. Bring me this foxes payment."

Two mice in the building project itself acknowledged the mouse with a "Yes, sir."

Judy stared at the sight before her and growled somewhat loudly. Ben was thankful that Nick or the Fennec seemed to have not heard Judy's rather noticeable growl.

After the exchange was finished between the two parties, Nick and the Fennec left the site and seemed to head back towards the entrance where their van was.

When they were out of sight, Judy stood up out of the grass upright and Ben stood up on one knee, crouching. Adam was next to his dad, upright as well.

Ben looked at Judy and asked, "Well Judy, you're the officer here. What do you want to do about all this?"

Judy didn't look to her right to look at Ben as she thought about it for a few seconds, rubbing her chin.

Judy then said after she came to a conclusion, "Well, I noticed that he did two acts that break the law. Plus, he lied to a…"

Just then, the mouse foreman noticed the two bunnies and the human in the grass near the construction site and he then shouted, "Hey, this is hardhat area. Get out you three."

Judy covered her mouth and said, "Oh, sorry sir."

She then motioned for Adam and Ben to follow her as she said, "Come on, I'll tell you about it on the way there, Ben."

(Later, with Nick and the Fennec)

Nick was currently in an alleyway with a huge wade of money in his paws after the various "jobs" that he and the Fennec had done today. He was counting the money he was giving to the Fennec for his cut of the profit today.

"37…38…39…40! There you go, Finnick!" Nick said, as the little fox, named Finnick, gave a nod of thanks for his share of the money as he waddled back to the van.

"Way to work that diaper, big boy!" Nick said with a chuckle, as Finnick took off his elephant outfit, revealing him wearing a black T-shirt and brown shorts, as he jumped up into his van, the driver's seat stacked with books to help him drive.

As he got in, Nick, while enjoying his own pawpsicle, made one questionable joke, "Hey, no kiss bye-bye for daddy?"

Finnick slammed the car door, spat out his pacifier… and a deep, gruff voice spoke out of the little guy's mouth.

"You kiss me tomorrow… I'll bite your face off!" Finnick snapped back, before putting on his shades, turned on his French rap music and started up his car.

"Ciao." He then said, driving off as Nick did a small salute with his nearly finished pawpsicle… and saw a very upset Judy and Ben in front of him. Adam was next to his dad, upset that somebody had lied to both Judy and his Dad.

"Well. Un. Be. Livable!" it was the first four things that Judy said as Nick saw her, the bunny's arms crossed.

"Oh, hey there, Judy Hopps and Captain Richardson," Nick said with a smile, but, though knowing why they were here, had a smug look on his face, "how's your day going?"

"I stood up for you…" Judy muttered.

"Excuse moi?" Nick asked, lifting his left ear a bit.

"I stood up for you, and you lied to me." Judy said, before she snapped at him yelling, "You LIAR!"

"Don't forget what I did for you as well you failed excuse of a fleabitten red meat sack. I nearly was about to ACTUALLY report that fucking elephant and his store to my superiors. I actually thought that I was protecting somebody who needed it" yelled Ben with anger on his face. He could feel the "other" Ben deep in him trying to worm its way out of the dark corner of his mind he shackled that personality to. The only thing stopping him from wailing on the red fox for what he did was the fact that both Judy and Ben's son were right next to him.

"It's called a hustle, sweethearts." Nick sweet-talked to Judy and Ben, the look on his face still there before it switched to worried, innocent face as he added, "And I'm not the liar, he is!"

Nick then pointed to the other direction, which Judy and Ben turned to see… nothing.

As she turned back, Nick was gone, only to look the other way and see the fox walking off.

"Hey!" she cried, before the three of them caught up to Nick.

"All right, Slick Nick," she said, "you're under arrest."

"Really," Nick asked, as he continued to play a bit on his pawpsicle stick, "for what?"

"Gee, I don't know," Judy said, mockingly, before getting serious as she pointed out, "How about selling food without a permit, transporting undeclared commerce across borough lines, false advertising…"

She was then interrupted as Nick got out a certificate and showed it in Judy's face as he said, "Permit, receipt of declared commerce, and I didn't falsely advertise anything. Take care."

Ben was almost at the point of taking that Popsicle stick from Nick and shoving it so far up his ass, he would lodge it in his brain. The very blatant disregard for the law and the disrespect he was showing an officer was pushing his limit.

"You told that mouse the pawpsicle sticks were redwood!" the bunny stated.

"That's right," Nick said, as he handed Judy his finished pawpsicle stick, "Red wood. With a space in the middle. Wood that is red."

Soon the four began crossing the road as some wildebeest walked the opposite direction towards them as Nick continued talking, "You can't touch me, Carrots, I've been doing this since I was born."

"You're gonna want to refrain from calling me Carrots." Judy said as she followed him, glaring daggers at the ballsy and snotty fox.

"My bad," Nick then said, "I just naturally assumed you came from some little carrot-chocked Podunk, no?"

"Uh, no," Judy explained, "Podunk is in Deerbrooke County. I grew up in Bunnyburrow."

"Okay." Nick said, basically not impressed, as he and Judy passed a small fruit and veg stand, and took some blueberries without the owner looking (as he was busy reading the late paper) and eat one of the berries, right in front of appalled Judy.

"Tell me if this story sounds familiar," Nick then said, as he placed the other blueberry in his shirt pocket as he explained, "Naïve little hick with good grades and big ideas decides "Hey, look at me and gonna move to Zootopia, where predators and prey live in harmony and sing "Kumbaya"!" Only to find – whoopsie – we all don't get along. And that dream of becoming a big city cop? Double whoopsie! She's a meter maid. And whoopsie number three-sie, no one cares about her or her dreams."

Judy was shocked about what she was hearing, trying not to believe it as Nick continued as he went a different direction and down through an ally, Judy following him "And soon enough those dreams and bunny sinks into emotional and literal squalor, living in a box under a bridge."

"Till finally she has no choice but to go back home," Nick said as he then shook his tail, "with that cute, fuzzy-wuzzy little tail between her legs to become…"

He stopped a bit as he was opening a new way through a fence to another part of town before turning to Judy and said, "You're from Bunnyburrow, is that what you said? So how about a carrot farmer? Does that sound about right?"

Judy was stunned at what the fox said as he left, but she then angrily went after him through the fence… only to almost get stepped on by a rhino passing by.

"Be careful now, toots," Judy heard Nick say, "or it won't just be your cute little dreams getting crushed and stepped on."

Furious, Judy caught up to him, "Hey, hey!" she said, as she jumped up in front of Nick.

"First of all, don't you ever call me toots." Judy said angrily, "Second, never, ever call a bunny cute! Even if we do look it, doesn't mean that we can't be taken seriously! Third, bunnies from Bunnyburrow do not get step on, they step up!"

Ben then said angrily, "What would you know about dreams you fucking red flea bag? You're out here conning animals and humans out of their money. What is that, your own sad pathetic failed attempt at a dream."

Nick looked around and glared his smug half lidded glare at Ben and said, "Let me guess, you're the little cute bunny's best friend. I wonder however. Are you friends with her cause you like her, or because you're going to kill her and take everything she has to her name." Ben was about to speak, when Nick then said, "Let me try to guess your reason for being here. I'm going to go with the latter. After all, all of you humans are alike anyways. Just violent, murderous, hairless freaks who seek to control others around them for their own benefit."

Ben took a step towards Nick as his eyes were beaming fire at the red fox. Ben had his last straw with the fox and was going to pound his skull into the concrete. Judy saw what Ben was appearing to do and got in between Nick and Ben and stopped him, crying out, "Ben, what do you think you're doing?"

Judy then put her paws out and grabbed his arms in her paws in a way to make him turn his attention towards her and not the fox. Ben looked down at Judy who seemed taken aback at the look Ben had in his eyes.

He had a look devoid of any peace and compassion. His eyes were filled with nothing but pure anger, but it was almost as if the anger was not a part of Ben himself. It appeared as if there was something that was lurking in Ben's mind right now that she had never seen before.

That's when Ben snapped out of his anger filled desire to protect Judy for the berating fox that was in front of him by pummeling him. Ben looked down at Judy and sighed heavily as he knew that this was going to lead to some more questions later that he'd have to answer.

Nick just chuckled and said, "I rest my case."

The fox then started walking away, but Judy ran over towards the retreating fox and stopped in front of him.

Both of them soon came to a stop as Judy angrily spoke to Nick, "Alright fox, no one, and I mean no one, can tell me what I can or can't be! Nobody has the right to torment me or Ben, and certainly nobody knows him like I do. Not the Chief of police, my parents and especially not some horrible jerk who thinks he's so smart, cool and good-looking, that he never had the guts to try and be anything more than a stupid, selfish, LYING, SWEET-TALKING PAWPSICLE HUSTLER!"

As Judy panted from letting it all out, Nick, still calm, looked to her.

"Alright, are you done? Good." He said as he knelt down to her, "I'm sorry to say it but, the fairy tail's over."

He then placed a hand by his muzzle, like he was calling out to someone, as he calmly yelled, "WELCOME TO REAL LIFE." Then brought it down as he continued, "Because everyone comes to Zootopia thinking the can be anything they want, well, you can't. You can only be what you are."

He then stood up straight as he then gestured himself, "Sly Fox," then pointed to Judy, "Dumb Bunny." He then looked over towards Ben and said, "Volatile Human."

"I'm not a dumb bunny." Judy said with gritted teeth.

Ben then said with a look of levelheadedness that had to be commended after what he was about to do with the fox and said, "And I'm not a volatile human."

"Right," Nick said, as he looked down for a second then pointed in the direction of Judy as he said, "and that's not wet cement."

It turned out, while Judy and Nick were talking, the earlier was standing on a pavement of wet cement, as they finished, the wet cement began to hold and Judy slowly began to sink in a bit, ankle-deep, as she then realized too late.

"You'll never be a real cop." Nick said, as he began to leave, while Judy struggled a bit to get out, the conversation getting the attention of several worker beavers, "You're a cute meter maid, though. Maybe a supervisor one day." Nick said to Judy, before pulling a quick salute bye as he chuckled, "Hang in there!" before long, he left.

Judy couldn't believe the very words the fox had the audacity to say to both her and Ben. Ben was trying to pull Judy out of the concrete, but the concrete had already hardened enough that it was quite difficult and impossible to do.

Judy seemed so defeated by what she heard the fox say that she didn't even try to help Ben help herself out of the cement. She stared solemnly at the ground before she heard Ben say to the beaver workmen, "Can you guys help me get her out?"

 _ **Well today turned out to be a real great day, didn't it Judy. You got placed on meter maid work, got lied to by a fox and showed everyone what happens when one has the gall to challenge society. What did I get for it? To be stuck in cement with Ben trying to pull me out after we both got berated and insulted by that stupid fox.**_

 _ **Ben, though. That look in his eyes…I've never seen him so angry before. It was like that wasn't even Ben at all. I can only imagine what had happened in the last five years that made that part of him surface. He was always so caring and protective and friendly.**_

 _ **Wait…was he about to beat that fox up…for me? I don't think that he was worth the effort, no matter how much Nick deserved it. I guess if there's one thing that hasn't changed, it's the fact that Ben still tries to stand up for those around him. I have to admit, I'm flattered that Ben would risk breaking the law to protect me, but if I hadn't stopped him, then I may not only end up with being stuck in cement, but I may have wound up booking Ben for assault charges. I tried not to dwell on the thought of my best friend in prison with his son having no dad, especially in Adam's condition.**_

 _ **I had to wonder how much things had changed with Ben over the years, and I would soon get some of the answers to those questions. It would not be pleasant to hear some of what Ben endured in the war beyond the death camp…it also wasn't pleasant when two very close bunnies to me would give me a call later tonight about my first real day in Zootopia.**_

* * *

 **AN: As you can see Nick and Ben are going to be enemies for a huge part of the story, those 2 will not get along, I felt like Ben when I first saw the film, I didn't like Nick and the but and tilt e finale I came to respect the fox. Anyways hope you enjoy this chapter and I'll see you guys later.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Here's the next chapter, my co-authors and me apologize for the long wait, college can be a fucking pain, also a heads up, the story will change from T to M, now on with the show.**

* * *

 ** _Chapter 7: Crime Never Sleeps…Nor Love_**

Judy had just finally been pulled free from the concrete prison her lower paws were in, courtesy of the city workers pain staking chiseling of the semi-hardened concrete, coupled with Ben's significant strength. His strength both impressed Judy, as well as made her feel slightly intimidated by him. She knew Ben would never hurt her, but when an ex-military human with the body definition near that of an MMA Fighter pulls you from semi-hardened concrete while the beaver city workers were still chipping at it, it can be quite intimidating.

Judy brushed off her lower paws of some of the remaining flakes of concrete, while Ben still found himself still holding onto her, one hand under her right armpit and the other hand holding onto her left shoulder. Judy's mind was a hornets nest of thoughts right now, a disjointed assortment of anger, fear and nervousness, with the last part having to do with Ben still holding on to her after pulling her out. Judy glanced up at Ben and saw him staring at her with concern in his eyes…his beautiful eyes that Judy sometimes found herself recently wanting to get lost in. She looked away bashfully, with her head towards the ground as she closed her own eyes and let out a sigh.

Ben then spoke up, his voice filled with concern for the bunny doe in front of him.

"Judy" he asked?

Judy didn't look at him as she withheld her response for a few moments before saying, "What" with a sullen tone?

Ben still held onto her for a few more minutes as he said, "What's wrong, Judy?" His eyes then narrowed as he said with distain, "If it's something about that fucking douchebag fox…"

He didn't get to finish his sentence as Judy wrapped her arms around Ben's torso and rest her head uneasily against his chest. Ben could feel from Judy's body language and slight shaking that she was trying her best to keep from crying.

Ben was caught off guard at first, but slowly wrapped his arms around her comfortingly as he tried to console her with what was bothering her.

Judy spoke a minute later with a little quiver in her voice as she asked, "Did I make the wrong decision?"

Ben gave her a curious look as he asked, "About what, Judy?"

Judy still held her friend out of desire for a need of comfort, as she then said, "About becoming an officer? I wanted to make a difference in the lives of both people and animals, trying to make the world a better place by the end of the day. Just when I felt I had succeeded in touching the lives of a harassed and discriminated dad and his special little kit, I…I…"

She paused as she whispered, "I feel used. By that fox, and by my boss."

Ben rubbed her back tenderly as he tried to console the crying bunny in front of him. Ben then spoke softly after thinking for a few minutes, "Judy, that guy was just a jackass. Not everyone in this city will be like him. He's the minority, and so many animals and humans have a respect for both law enforcement and the CF military."

She then whispered with still a hint of distress in her voice, "I know, but it feels like…"

Ben interrupted her and said, "That you are having the worst day ever?"

He could feel the bunny's head against his chest move slightly up and down in a slow nod. Ben then kept rubbing her back as he said, "So you had a bad first day. The important thing is that you move on from it harder and tougher. Chief Bogo may be an asshole, but the important thing is to not let him know that he is getting to you. You need to show him that you have the strong psyche to be able to handle the tougher jobs in the department. This city needs to look up at its officers as the strong ones, and not the ones who struggle to handle the world as much as them. Only then can you start making a difference."

Judy's slight shaking and tense body language lingered for a few minutes, but slowly died down as Ben talked and after he finished. Adam overheard the whole conversation, but stood off to the side, not wanting to make things possibly worse. The young bunny Buck's heart did go out to the older Doe and the pain through the fear and nervousness she was feeling.

Judy finally let go of Ben and looked up at him, her eyes watery as she took a breath and let it out. She then said, "Your right. I mean, how am I going to help the city if I can't even help myself through times like this. I guess…I…"

She then formed a very faint smile on her muzzle as she looked at Ben and said, "Thanks, Ben." She paused as she said with a little upbeat tone of voice, "You know, I'm glad you've come back into my life. It's great to have such a supportive and caring friend in my life."

Ben smiled and said softly, "And you in my life, Judy."

Adam walked over to Judy and tapped her on the shoulder lightly, to which Judy turned to face him. Adam looked up at Judy and asked with a little hopeful voice, "So…you doing better Judy?"

Judy's muzzle cracked into a wide smile at the shy, caring and (despite his life 5 years ago) still somewhat innocent male Bunny. She chuckled and ruffled Adam's head fur as he hugged the buck and said, "Yeah…I'm better sweetie."

The two of them broke their hug as Judy looked at the time on her phone and realized that her shift was ending soon. It was 4 o'clock and she got off work at 4:30.

Judy then said to the two males with her, "Well, at least there is one good thing to come out of today…my shift ends in 30 minutes." She put her phone away as she then said to the Ben and Adam, "Come on, lets head back to the station. I just want to put this day behind me."

Adam then chipped in optimistically and said, "Yeah, and maybe tomorrow will be a better day."

The three of them took of walking down the street back to the patrol vehicle as Judy said quietly to no one in particular, "Yeah…it might be."

The three of them got in the patrol vehicle after walking for a block and Judy started the vehicle. The small engine came to life and soon the three of them were off heading back to the station.

Judy navigated her way through the busy streets of rush hour Zootopia, as the three of them eventually found their way back to the location of Precinct 1. They pulled into the parking lot for the station and Judy parked in an open space in the fenced in vehicle area. The three of them climbed out of the vehicle and started walking towards the station, mostly in silence. It was broken only by occasional small talk. When then three of them came to the front doors for the Precinct, they stopped before heading in…well Judy heading in anyways.

The three of them stood there as Judy took a breath and said, "Well, I guess this is where we go our separate ways for now."

Ben nodded and said, "Yeah, hey it was great spending time with you today Judy…for what the day was worth anyways."

Judy smiled and said, "Yeah, it was. Wasn't it."

Ben stuck a hand out for Judy to shake goodbye, only for Judy to feel slightly hot and flustered at what she was going to do.

She chuckled and pushed Ben's hand down, which made the human gaze questioningly at the doe. She smirked as she held her arms out open and said, "Oh surely you can give a best friend a better goodbye than that now, Ben?"

Ben smirked as he and Judy hugged, both secretly loving the contact and craving stuff like this with each other the more each of them hugged each other.

Ben and Judy broke the hug as Adam came running to Judy and caught her off guard as she turned around just in time to see him at the last second. The buck ran into Judy with a hug, nearly knocking the doe over.

"Omph…" she said with shock!

She looked at the buck that was hugging her for a few seconds before hugging Adam goodbye as well.

"I had a fun time hanging out with you Judy. You're so nice and friendly, you remind me of my dad and my…" Adam said, only to not finish the sentence when he reached the one word that still tormented him to say to this day…

 _Mom_.

Judy rubbed the bucks back happily as she said, "I enjoyed spending time with you too sweetie."

The two bunnies released each other from the hug as they went their separate ways with a final verbal goodbye. Judy went into the station to hand in her ticket printer and keys for the patrol vehicle for the next meter maid to use it. Meanwhile, Ben and Adam walked back in the direction towards their apartment complex.

 _ **(Time jump; 1 hour)**_

Judy had just left the station after having to stay much later than she thought. She needed to take care of handing in her report on her ticket count for the day, as well as stop in the woman's locker room to change and have a quick shower to get rid of the sweat that had accumulated on her fur from the day.

Judy began to walk down the streets of Savanna Central to head back to her own place. Along the way, she began to dwell on the happenings of today, and while it seemed to all culminate into a bad day, there were two things that stuck out to her from today.

Ben…and that stupid fox.

Judy was grateful to have her childhood friend back in her life once again, safely knowing that the horrors of war hadn't claimed her best friend. The reapers of death that swept over the battlefield looking to claim the warriors within it had skipped over Ben. Was it perhaps out of mercy knowing how much he meant to his parents and my family? Was it perhaps because Ben's destiny had not yet been fulfilled in life? Or, and more difficult to think of, was it perhaps because even the reapers of war found themselves to tremble in fear before him. Judy did not know the answer to why he lived and so many others died, all she cared about was that he was back.

She had to wonder however, if Ben had returned in one piece in the end of it all. When Ben was going to clobber Nick into the next dimension, the anger that she saw in Ben's eyes…it unsettled her. When her eyes met with his, she saw something that wasn't right. Ben was usually not so easy to anger as he was in the past. That anger she gazed into however, was not unbridled rage bent on violence. There was some…control behind it, almost like the anger she saw had been refined into a blade as sharp as the stare alone that could cut though one's mind, and the blade through those that brought it forth. What really unsettled her was the fact that it didn't seem that Ben was entirely in control of it. It was like there was another human dwelling deep in Ben now, a side she has never seen before. The ultimately shocking thing is that, through it all, she didn't feel threatened by it, not directly anyways.

Was Ben still Ben, or had horrors of war claimed another soul, tearing it away and leaving a puppet dancing within the body.

Judy finally made her way to her apartment building. She entered the lobby and made her way up the flights of stairs to her own apartment and walked up to the door. When she stepped on the welcome mat that had "welcome" spelled out in carrots, she felt her paw pads graze on the rough surface as some dirt fell of her feet from her walk home through the city. She unlocked the door and swung it open and gazed into her dimly lit one room apartment. She wished she had something bigger, but it was all she could afford for the time being. She entered and closed the door, locking it as well as she set her phone and notepad down on her desk. She walked over to where her small selection of clothes she brought with her from BunnyBurrow were hanging and grabbed a pair of pajamas, light pink in color, that were hanging. She took off her shirt, leaving her in her black undershirt that covered her female rabbit area. She took off her pants afterwards leaving her in her panties, also black. She glanced out of her right peripheral and saw her reflection in the mirror that was fastened to the wall of the apartment. She stared at herself for a few seconds as her mind drifted to think of something else. She both felt and saw her skin faintly under her fur turn a shade of red as she felt hot over thinking what she was thinking.

I wonder if things will ever pan out with me getting…this close to Ben she thought. Her body heated up as she thought about some of her older daydreams of her and Ben she used to have when he was away at war. Her mind even went so far as to think about what she would do with Ben if she got the chance to act on her feelings…and if he felt the same way. She shook those thoughts out of head reluctantly as things between her and Ben weren't…good enough for her to bring up conversations about how she felt for him. She shook her head with a sigh afterwards as she hung up her day clothes since they weren't dirty enough to need to be washed. She changed into her pajamas and went to go make herself a quick dinner.

Judy pulled the microwave meal out of the microwave once it had finished cooking and set it on the desk. It was some steamed carrots that she thought would make a nice evening meal. She pulled the lid back as steam spewed out of the package. She looked inside and groaned with disgust at the shriveled up, single carrot that was in it. She took the container, and without even looking, threw it away in her garbage.

However, her eyes were drawn to something on her desk. She gazed longingly at the many photos of her family members, all 278 members of the Hopps brood (including herself). She began to feel a somewhat empty feeling inside for the first time since coming here and she knew what it was.

Judy had never been away from home on her own, at least far away like how she was now in Zootopia. She missed the familiar and somewhat comforting chaos of the Hopps household, as well as see the familiar faces of her family.

Judy reached over for her phone and grabbed it off the table. She turned the screen on and swiped the screen to unlock the phone. She scrolled through her contacts and found who she wanted to talk to.

"Mom and Dad"

That was what the screen of the device showed the contact name as. Judy was about to tap the call button with her paw digit when she saw a note she had left for herself that was now visible on her notepad.

She had wrote it if she ever felt homesick and wanted to call her parents to tell them how much she missed them, to basically suck it up. She was afraid her parents would worry about one of their oldest daughters being alone in a big city such as Zootopia if she called them to mention this to them. For both their peace of mind, as well as being able to declare her independence, she told herself to suck it up.

She gentle plopped the phone on the desk and slumped back in her chair, staring out the window of her apartment into the night skyline of Zootopia. She let out a sigh as, unbeknownst to her, her phone had started to dial the contact on the screen…Mom and Dad.

She heard the phone ring faintly a few times and suddenly looked back with shock and cried, "Oh, no…"

She fumbled with the phone for a bit, until the other end picked, and Judy was now muzzle timing with her own mother.

Bonnie was holding one of Judy's youngest siblings, Abby, who was only a baby, in her right arm. Bonnie answered with a big and happy tone as she said, "Hey, there's my big girl." She then looked away towards someone outside of the camera's field of vision and said more quietly, "Told you she'd call."

Bonnie then looked back at Judy and said with a wide smile and raised ears, "How's the big city, Bun-Bun?"

Judy on the one hand was conflicted while her mother was on the phone. Judy wanted to just tell her mother that she missed her family and her familiar hometown of BunnyBurrow. She wanted to go back home, especially after some of the events of today, namely involving that lying swindling fox. On the other hand, she didn't want her family to be concerned for her overall mental health while she was in Zootopia. The last thing Judy wanted now was to give her family a reason to force her to come back home, and in turn, make her give up on her career as an officer.

Judy tried to put on her best poker face for her mother. She put on a forced, albeit slightly visible, smile for her mother as she said, "Good…Its good."

However, there was one thing that Judy wasn't able to put on a poker face to conceal and she didn't fully realize it. Judy's biology had betrayed her in this regard.

Her ears were droopy and still hanging down behind her head. Her mother gave her a smile back for a few seconds before she picked up on the sign that something was wrong.

"What's wrong" said Bonnie as she looked worriedly at her daughter?

Judy smiled and said with a slightly suspicious tone, "I'm fine."

Bonnie shook her head and said, "Oh, you are not fine. Your ears are droopy. Do you need me to come up there?"

Before Judy could even respond, Bonnie looked off screen slightly and yelled out, "Stu, start the car."

Judy began to slightly panic as she said, "No, no. I'm fine."

She looked over back towards where she hung her meter maid uniform and gazed at it slightly before she looked back at her mother and said, "It's just been a really long day."

Stu then poked his head into the view of the screen, putting himself between Bonnie and the camera as he said with mild fear, "You had to use the fox Taser?"

Judy rolled her eyes and said calmly, "No, Dad."

Bonnie then gently shoved Stu out from blocking the camera as she said, "Then what do you mean you had a long day?"

Judy rubbed the back of her neck as she said, "Oh, just a long day on the force…and I ran into Ben and his son too."

Bonnie gazed at Judy for a bit before she closed her eyes and started to chuckle softly. She shook her head and sighed afterwards as she didn't say a thing in the process.

Judy cocked her head at her mother and asked, "What's so funny, mom?"

Bonnie breathed out a small sigh as she looked up at her daughter and smiled to her saying, "Its nothing really hunny. I just find it a little amusing that after 5 years away from you and us, Ben decided to return home and now, it's like he can't stay away from you."

Judy's cheeks reddened under her fur as she became flustered over what her mother was saying. When the two of them were kids, Ben and Judy were nearly inseparable. Now, Judy couldn't help but realize that looking back on today, things between Ben and Judy appeared to be like what they were when they were kids. The two of them were becoming inseparable once again. He had actually accompanied her to her job and hung out with her today, not to seemingly help her, but rather to just spend time with her. Even after 5 years of absence, Ben and Judy's friendship was still as strong as ever and she was beyond grateful for that. Especially for what she had now just realized…

If Ben and she were still as good of friends as ever, then there was a chance, maybe a good chance that the thing she had been pondering one and off for most of the day may actually happen…

She and Ben may end up becoming more than just best friends. She couldn't deny that she loved him. She had a special feeling, a connection to Ben. A part of her even had suspicions that he may even feel the same way. So rather than worry about it being an 'if' Ben would agree dating her, she decided to focus on it being a 'when' Ben would start dating her.

She wanted him to make the first move however. She knew that she was ready for taking their relationship to another level, but she wanted him to be ready as well.

Judy looked back at her mom and chuckled slightly nervously as she moved her eyes bashfully away from the screen of her phone as she said, "Yeah…he uh, does seem to be um, popping up around a lot."

Bonnie stared at her daughter intently as if trying to read what was bothering her. Judy felt her whole body swell with nervousness as she wondered what her mother was thinking.

Bonnie finally then smiled and said, "Is there something you want to tell me Judy?"

Judy shook her head and said with a slightly higher pitched voice, "No, I'm fine. Really."

Bonnie then said softly, "Really cause from where I'm standing I see my beautiful daughter with droopy ears, a twinge of nervousness and the inside of her ears a deep shade of pink."

Judy went wide eyed as she began to think about what her mother may be trying to get at.

"From what I can see, there might be something having to do with a certain man you want to tell me about" said Bonnie coaxingly and playfully.

Bonnie then chuckled and said, "I know that look Judy."

Judy asked quietly, "You do?"

Bonnie nodded and said, "uh-ha, that's the same look I had when I was afraid of talking to your father before we started dating."

There was a pause in the conversation as Judy knew what her mother was now clearly hinting at, but she didn't want to admit it. Her feelings were still so…uncomfortable to air out to anyone else yet, especially to her mother. Bonnie waited patiently for her daughter to bring up what she knew Judy was feeling, but she realized after a minute that things weren't going anywhere. She realized that Judy's must have been a little insecure about her feelings. Bonnie finally filled in the blank that she was eagerly waiting for her daughter to do.

Bonnie then smiled and said, "You love Ben, don't you?"

Judy's entire body went both hot and cold at the same time as she froze. She sat there for nearly a minute as she then whispered to her mother, "Is it bad if I do?"

Bonnie gave her daughter the sweetest smile she could and said, "Not at all my dear. He's such a caring and intelligent man. There's no shame if you love him."

Bonnie then looked off screen to someone else and said, "Stu, my arms getting tired. Can you take Abby from me?"

Stu said softly, apparently listening to the conversation himself, "Sure Bon."

Stu took Judy's youngest sibling from her mother as he looked in the camera and said, "I'm so proud of my big girl. All grown up and already thinking about settling down."

Judy's whole skin turned two shades redder under her fur as she said embarrassingly, "Dad…!"

Bonnie then looked at Stu and said, "Oh Stu, don't pressure her."

Stu backed up defensively as he said, "What? Can't a man be proud of his daughter?"

Bonnie rolled her eyes at her husband's oblivious nature to Judy's insecurities at the moment. She then looked back at the camera and said, "If you love him Judy, you should ask him out."

Judy then let out a drawn out exhale as she said, "Yeah…"

She looked away for a few seconds and then back at the camera and said, "Um, I'll think about it."

Judy knew that she really wanted to be with Ben, but the fact that he was a human, he's been gone for 5 years and recently returned, and that he was still in the military complicated things for her. While she would wait for him to make the first move, she still felt uncertain about the whole situation.

Bonnie beamed a smile at her daughter and said, "That's my Judy. Always the trier."

Bonnie could tell that Judy was still uncertain and insecure about her feelings for Ben. However, she could also tell that there was something else lying deeper under the hotbed of feelings Judy was experiencing. She felt that this was not the only thing that was bothering her daughter today. However, she chose to not press the issue, but rather chose to offer her support for her daughter.

Bonnie then reassured her daughter and tenderly said, "Hunny, I know how you must be feeling right now. If it helps you to know this, then I'll say it."

Bonnie motioned for Stu to stand by her and Judy glanced up at the phone in her paws. Her eyes locked with her parents as Bonnie then said, "Hunny…Judy. We could not be more proud of you than we are right now. Our big girl graduated at the top of her class, she's living on her own in the big city, and she's grown into a beautiful young doe that has a bright future for herself."

Judy felt her eyes tear up at the praise that her mother gave her. The kind words and the love behind them deeply touched Judy.

Bonnie elbowed Stu gently, causing him to look at her. She discreetly motioned to their daughter in a 'say something' meaning.

Stu got the message as he looked at his daughter and smiled at her and said, "You keep making right in your life, Jude the dude. Your always have our support and we promise to never let you fall." Stu then added in, "We may not like the career you've gone into, but if it makes you truly happy, then we will be with you through it all Judy."

Judy had tears falling from her eyes as she tried to hold back her tears, but failed at it.

Judy managed to squeeze out a few words in response, "Thank you guys."

Bonnie nodded and said, "Anytime, Judy. We love you very much."

Judy smiled with teary eyes and said, "I love you guys too."

Bonnie then said, "You best get some sleep for tomorrow Judy. We'll see you later."

Judy then said, "Goodnight, guys."

The call ended and Judy set her phone on her desk and tried to compose herself from her crying. She felt like she was beyond blessed with such loving parents, a dream job, and her best friend now back in her life. She felt like she didn't deserve all she had, but she loved it just the same.

Judy decided to end the day and go to bed. She stared a little nervously and tensely at the ceiling from her bed in the dark. The room was illuminated faintly from the city lights of Zootopia as she heard cars honking their horns in the distance. She then thought of something and reached next to her and grabbed her stuffed carrot toy from so long ago. The one she's had since a kit. She remembered how she used to hug and cuddle with it, imagining that it was Ben to keep her safe and secure.

She rubbed her thumb paw digit over the face of the stuffed carrot toy and she felt a smile spread across her muzzle as she took the toy and brought it to her chest and she rolled onto her side in bed. She embraced the toy as she once again took comfort in imagining she was lying in bed with her best friend and now romantic attraction, Ben.

She let out a soft sigh and soon drifted off to sleep.

* * *

 _(Meanwhile; in Ben and Adam's apartment)_

Ben was lying in Bed, shirtless and awake as the man was replaying the events of today over in his head. While today certainly pushed him to the limits of his patience with the fox that not only belittled Judy and snidely harassed and insulted her, but had also treated Ben like so many animals treated his kind now…as monsters, pillagers and savages. Ben so wanted to rearrange the fox's internal organs, but he was thankful at the end of it all that Judy had stopped him. He would have gotten arrested and she would have to be the one to do it most likely.

Ben couldn't quite wrap his head around his response to the fox. He normally didn't let things people or animals say to him get to him that bad. Was it cause he had a grip on the darker side of himself and it shone through today? Was it because he was indeed turning into what he feared Judy would find in him when he returned…a violent and brutal human that lived to the stereotype of his kind?

Or was it simply that…he loved her, and would do anything to protect her?

Ben felt a wave of heat wash over him as he lay there and fantasized about Judy. He thought about her vibrant and shining eyes. Her light and tender, yet tough when needed voice. How silky smooth her fur must be to caress. He envisioned her and Ben making out and have a…wild night.

He knew he couldn't deny it after these thoughts surfacing for so long that he was indeed in love with her and every bit of her.

Ben smiled as he thought about how remarkably great of friends they had remained after his absence. Even after 5 years, she hadn't given up on his return. That was something he could never get back if he had lost it.

Ben's mind dwelled on his friend for a while, his heart and mind full of admiration for his best friend. Soon, Ben couldn't be helped but reminded of the events of today that played out with that fox that he dealt with…Nick.

Ben's body tensed up and he felt his anger rise over how the smug and pompous fox was treating Judy. He not only lied to and played with his emotions and Judy's, but he belittled her and made her feel like an insignificant bunny that was living a dream she could never hope to achieve, merely just stuck in a pipe dream. He made her feel stupid, gullible and worse of all, a failure.

To Ben, he made himself feel like a violent, heartless and merciless killer. Ben swallowed a hard lump in his throat as he couldn't help but feel himself compared to the mindset of an HR rebel from the war, and the insurgents after the war driven by hate, evil and delusion. Ben felt like he was possibly even worse than the HR because he nearly beat the fox to within an inch of his life. He wanted to crack Nick's skull open and tear him apart limb by limb, a deed he did to the insurgents in the former HR lands on more than one occasion. All that…over how the fox was behaving.

Ben could feel tears begin to well in his eyes as his thoughts he dwelled on for the last 5 years in Karlston came rushing back to him.

Was he truly a monster? Was it only this new half of Ben, or indeed had the monstrous parasite dwelling in Ben's mind consumed its host, robbing Ben slowly of his humanity and innocence until he was now left with who and what he was?

Ben realized that Judy may have indeed thought so as well. The look on her face when she stepped in between him and Nick said it all to Ben…

 _What the fuck are you doing…?_

Ben knew that what he was doing may have indeed been driven by the mindset of a monster that he may have become. Maybe that wasn't even what he was, or even how Judy saw him as. What he did know is the reason why he did what he did.

He wanted to protect her…

Very often in his life since he met Judy, he felt an obligation to not only be a friend to her because they were so compatible as friends, he also felt an obligation to protect her from those that would harm her both physically and emotionally. Ben clearly realized that Judy wasn't a porcelain doll that needed to be guarded like she was fragile. He knew she was a strong, independent young doe that proved that species doesn't define who you are and what you can be.

Regardless, he wanted to protect her as a friend and as a secret lover. With that truth in mind, Ben rolled over onto his side and stared into the dark room of his bedroom, faintly lit by the glow of the lights from Zootopia seeping in through the window of his room, the blinds blocking most of the light.

Ben sighed slightly and said to himself, "No matter what Judy, I won't let that fox, this city or this world harm you in anyway."

Ben's mind began to shut off as he began to slip into sleep, but he had one more thought on his mind before he fell asleep.

 _If I ever see that fox again, he's going to be sorry…_

 **(The Next Morning…)**

Judy woke up in her apartment and got ready to go to work once again today. She made sure to leave a little early to grab something to eat at a nearby coffee shop on the way to the station. Judy put on her uniform and put on her badge before she looked in the mirror and gazed at her reflection. She couldn't help but let out a chuckle at the fact that, only yesterday, she was bursting with energy and had confidence in her posture and eyes that said she was ready to take on the world. However, the bunny she was seeing in front of her now was singing a different tune. She now had skepticism where she had confidence and slightly slothfulness where she had energy; her reflection only showed her how little she wanted to go to work again today. Regardless, she remembered what Ben said to her yesterday. If she wanted to be a _true_ officer at the precinct and be trusted and respected, she had to earn it like she earned her Valedictorian status at the academy.

She shrugged her shoulders at her reflection and said, "Today's another day, Judy." She looked at her reflection as if she expected her own reflection to respond back at her.

Judy left her apartment and headed on down to the nearby coffee shop to get herself breakfast and a small coffee on her way to work.

She walked down the nearly empty streets of Zootopia since it was still early in the morning and rush hour hadn't started yet.

After Judy waited in line for her order and picked it up when it was ready, she made her way to work. She would get there 20 minutes early at this rate and would have time to eat her breakfast and enjoy her coffee.

Little sis she know that she would run into somebody she met yesterday again…

 **(Later at 9 am; across town in Ben and Adam's apartment)**

Ben and Adam were already up and awake, ben due to feeling rested and Adam due to an appointment that he had today with somebody important…his private tutor for his homeschooling.

Back in Karlston, Ben arranged a tutor to teach Adam at the military base and at home when he was between deployments. Ben wasn't quite sure if Adam could handle the stresses and social anxiety of proper schooling, so he hired a tutor for him. It was quite hard to convince Matz, the highest commanding officer at the base, to allow a civilian tutor onto the grounds. However, an agreement was made where the tutor was escorted in and escorted out by the MP's, and the tutor was working well for Adam. Ben was happy that he was able to find another tutor for Adam here in Zootopia, and Ben made sure the tutor was an animal to make Adam more comfortable. His tutor was a panther named Emily.

Ben had just finished drinking his usual cup of morning coffee he had and he ate a premade microwavable breakfast sandwich. Ben was getting ready to head on out after meeting Adam's new tutor to go buy a new car. Ben knew that he would have to return the HUMVEE back to CFM possession here in the next few days, after all it was a military vehicle and the base in Bunnyburrow would need it back. Ben was a little saddened by this fact as he was beginning to grow attached to HUMVEE and the sort of gruff and badass charm that it brought.

"Dad, are you sure Emily is going to be able to help me like Michael did? You said that he was one of the best private tutors in Karlston after all" asked Adam from the couch in the family room as he was watching cartoons on their big 50' T.V. that Ben brought with them from Karlston? Adam was nervous about continuing his studies, mainly due to the fact that he had a different tutor now.

Ben was checking the time that the nearby Chevrolet dealer opened on his phone as he looked up from the screen to Adam and said comfortingly, "Oh, don't be nervous Adam. Emily is the best tutor I found online here in Zootopia. She was highly reviewed and she specializes in dealing with kids and kits with disabilities and disorders. I figured that she would be a good fit for you since you have social anxiety and due to your pa…"

Ben didn't finish the sentence as he knew that Adam was still uncomfortable about talking about his past, less so with his dad, but still uncomfortable. Ben knew that Adam had come a long way since he first came into Ben's life. The child phycologist in Karlston helped Adam tremendously over the years in that city, helping Adam to deal with his feelings, memories and his mental scars. There were moments where those scars and wounds reopened with certain triggers stimulating memories, but Ben really now just didn't bring up Adam's past only as a curtesy to Adam.

Ben quickly said, "Anyways, she's also a panther so I know you'll feel comfortable around her since you always do around animals more than humans."

Adam smiled at his dad as his ears went up in excitement. He then said, "Thanks dad. Do you think she likes science too?"

Ben chuckled at his son's charming passion for science and said with a grin, "I'm sure she does, Adam."

The bunny buck bounced slightly on the couch in happiness over the thought of his new tutor loving science just like him.

Ben went back to checking the hours for the dealer on his phone and he was about to turn the phone screen off when he heard a gentle knocking on the door to their apartment.

Ben put his phone in his cargo pants leg pocket as he said, "That should be her."

Ben walked over to the door and unlocked it before opening the door, only to be greeted by a panther on the other side of the door wearing a dark green knee length skirt and a blue sweater. She wore silver necklace with a silver heart shaped pendant with three diamonds or Cubic Zirconium in it.

Ben stood in the doorway and asked, "Emily I take it?"

The panther smiled and stuck her paw out for a hand/paw shake, then saying, "That's me, you must be Adam's father."

Ben shook her paw and gestured for Emily to come into the apartment, which she thanked him with a smile and a nod.

Ben closed the door behind her and locked it.

Ben then said, "Adam, come meet your new tutor."

The family room was blocked partly by a wall on the left that extended further down to create a quazi-entry area with the parent wall on the right of the door. As such, Emily and Ben couldn't see where Adam was at the moment, but they heard the T.V. shut off, followed by a few brief seconds of silence before Adam came around the corner and came up to Emily and Ben. Adam glanced up at Emily as he walked towards the two of them, not making direct eye contact due to his shy nature and social anxiety. Emily bent over slightly and smiled at the rabbit.

Adam stopped next to his dad and waved timidly as he didn't say anything. Emily then said, "You must be Adam. Your dad told me quite a bit about you, especially how smart you are. I'm Emily; it's nice to meet you."

Adam looked away from her a bit bashfully due to the praise she gave him. Adam was still succumbing to his usual shy nature as he said softly, "Thanks."

Emily then said, "Don't be nervous around me Adam, I know we're going to have a fun time together with your studies." The panther paused briefly before a thought occurred to her and she formed a look of realization on her muzzle before looking back down at Adam and saying, "Especially with science, I love science."

Adam's ears shot up as he looked up at her and said hopefully, "Really?"

Emily then said sweetly, "Of course Adam."

Adam bounced happily in place with a grin of joy on his muzzle as he realized his new tutor shared the same favorite academic subject with him.

Emily giggled lightly at the kits sudden eagerness and happiness. She stood back up straight and looked over at Ben and said, "Anything else you need to discuss with me before Adam and I get cracking with his studies?"

Ben looked at Emily and inwardly smiled at the compatibility that Emily happened to share both personality wise and academically. He then said, "Not really. I informed you of certain…prior situations that are sensitive to discuss."

Ben saw Emily's expression partly dip into one sympathy and sorrow for what Adam had experienced years ago, but she masked her emotions well enough in hopes that it wouldn't affect Adam.

Ben then continued saying, "All I want to do is give you my phone number if there is an emergency."

Emily then said, "Alright" as she pulled out her phone and went through the menus to add Ben as one of the many emergency contacts that she had for parents of the kids and kits she tutored.

Ben gave her his number and she put it in her phone. Ben then got down a bit to Adams level and said to him, "Alright son. I'm going out to get us a new car from the dealer. I'll be back in a few hours. You promise me you'll listen to what Emily wants you to do?"

Adam felt like rolling his eyes over the suggestion that his father thought he would misbehave or something. He knew he was a good kit and so did his dad. Adam regardless nodded and said, "Yes dad."

Ben smiled and said, "Good, and don't hesitate to call me if there's a problem."

Ben extended out his arms and said, "Bye son, I love you."

Adam hopped into his dad's arms and embraced his father as he said, "I love you too, dad."

Emily let out a near silent, "Aww" at the sight before her.

Ben then kissed his son's forehead and stood up and went over to the oak wood corner table by the door to grab the keys for the HUMVEE. Ben knew this would be one of the last times he got to drive that beast of a vehicle here in Zootopia, so he didn't want to miss it.

Ben opened the door and looked back as Emily and Adam went over to the dining room table to get set up for Adam's lessons today.

Ben smiled happily at his son's peace of mind that he's had since moving to Zootopia.

Ben then walked out and closed the door and locked it. He then went down the hallway and several flights of stairs to exit the building to the parking structure next door. He found the HUMVEE and unlocked it and climbed in. He closed the door and started the vehicle's diesel engine with a roar of its own.

Ben then drove out of the structure and onto the street as he went to go buy a new car.

 **(Meanwhile; elsewhere in Savanna Central with Judy)**

Judy's mind coursed with thoughts of frustration and anger as her boss had assigned her meter maid duty again. She was quickly growing to hate the Tuk-Tuk style vehicle she drove, the uniform she wore and the menial tasks she did with it. However, she kept on telling herself mentally that she would have to prove that she could handle herself with these tasks and show her boss that she could be a real police officer if she wanted to have a shot at being truly accepted at her precinct. After all, she was the first rabbit officer ever on the force and she had a name to make not only for herself, but for rabbits everywhere that they were just more than carrot farming bunnies.

Judy had pulled the Tuk-Tuk vehicle over to the curb to parallel park somewhere in Savanna Central she got out of the vehicle and proceeded to walk down the street checking the meters for any ones that were expired. She walked at a steady pace as she paid attention for any sound of an expiring meter and the red sign inside of it.

Finally, she heard a beep sound as her left ear shot up and she looked behind her and saw a meter for a white convertible expire as the red sign popped up in the display with a ching sound.

She walked over to the meter and the white vehicle as she typed the information into the ticket printer and the device printed out her ticket she needed to put on the car. She slid the ticket under the wiper and began to walk away. Unbeknownst to her, a moose was walking back to said vehicle with a briefcase, just finished with a meeting or a job of some sort. He was about to unlock the car when he saw the ticket and snorted in anger he looked around and saw a bunny meter maid walking away. He then groaned loudly and yelled out to her, "Hey meter maid, I was 30 seconds over. What, you got nothing better to do than give out pointless tickets?"

Judy looked behind her and said, "I'm just doing my job sir."

The moose chuckled, annoyed and said, "Really, shouldn't you be carrot farming than?"

Judy felt a little emotional sting to her ego as she was reminded of the stereotype job of her species. She then said to the moose, "I'm an officer, not a farmer."

The moose then angrily said, "No, you're just a waste of time to this city, so why don't you just go dig in the dirt like the good cute little bunny you are."

Judy was trying her hardest to not get upset at the moose as she didn't want to cause an incident that could get her in trouble. She looked away solemnly as she felt like somebody had punched her straight in her pride.

Her ears then popped up as she heard a voice then yell, "Hey…tall, stupid and fucking pissy. Why don't you leave the bunny alone and go bother somebody else doing their job."

Judy looked behind the moose and saw none other than Ben standing on the sidewalk behind the moose. She could see a HUMVEE parked several dozen feet from him as he stood there with a look of both annoyance and brewing anger on his face. The moose stormed over to him tried to push Ben and said, "Stay of of this, hairless f…"

Only the moose never even touched Ben. Ben had grabbed the moose's right arm and held it in a lock and twisted his arm, causing the moose to grunt in pain. He then dashed behind the moose, arm still in hand and kicked the moose in his legs from behind with his boot, sending the moose to the ground on his knees. Ben held the moose's arm in a hold from behind as he also put the moose in a headlock.

The moose's eyes went wide with fear as he tried grunting and wriggling his way free. Ben then said very coldly, "Never…ever…try to touch me. I'm a captain in the CF military and have more than eight years combat experience. I could snap your arm in half and rip your throat out with my bare hands."

The moose tried to grunt in and scream in fear, but Ben tightened his hold on the moose as he said, "So listen here. This is what's going to happen. Rather than calling me a hairless freak like the fucking bigot you are, you are going to apologize to that bunny for insulting her for doing her job. You are going to get in that pretty little car of yours and you're going to drive away and you're going to forget us, and you know why?"

The moose stopped grunting and squirming as he listened to Ben with fear evident in every part of his body.

"You're going to forget us because we won't care to remember you. You may think you're above an officer, but you're not. You may think your some hotshot fucking big man in the house moose, but in reality you're just a sad, pathetic, speciesist little meat sack not even worth remembering."

Ben then spoke slowly and deliberately, "If I catch you trying this again with her or any other member of the ZPD again, I'm going to be the one to have your ass hauled off to a prison for attempting to assault a CFM commissioned officer and you'll get a nice cell with somebody named Butch who likes to get 'friendly' on Friday nights. YOU UNDERSTAND ME!"

The moose nodded slowly in fear, to which Ben grinned satisfied, "Good."

He then released the moose that collapsed to the ground gasping slightly and whimpering. He stood up shakenly and looked at the meter maid as said, "I'm so…s…sorry, ma'am. I won't d…do thi…this again."

The moose got in his car and peeled out of his space forgetting his briefcase on the ground.

Ben turned around with his satisfied face to see Judy glaring up at him, an expression that held a mix of so many emotions that Ben couldn't read what she was thinking. Ben's face dropped instantly as he realized that he may have gone a bit too far.

Judy began tapping her foot rapidly as she put her paws on her hips and looked up at him with her expression.

Ben then chuckled somewhat nervously and said, "So…"

Judy then said, "I could arrest you for what you did Ben…

Ben looked like a deer in the headlights as he was afraid that his own best friend might book him.

Her muzzle suddenly lightened up as she said, "…if he hadn't tried to throw the first blow."

Ben breathed out a sigh of relief as Judy then smiled up at him as she said, "I'm glad you showed up. That guy just wouldn't stop hounding me and it was making me feel…" she trailed off as she didn't want to explicitly say what she was feeling from his harassment, but Ben saw in her eyes what she was thinking about.

She then hugged her friend as she said with a tender voice, "By the way, that was sweet what you did…if a little aggressive perhaps."

Ben's arms rested at his sides as his heart rate jumped from the contact that Judy was giving him. He slowly reached around to hug Judy back as he said, "A…Anytime Judy."

Judy then released from the embrace as she grabbed her ticket printer off of her hip and started to walk around Ben and took a few steps forwards before stopping and turning back to her friend. She then looked up at him and smiled before motioning with her paws forwards. She then said, "Well, you coming or what? I could use a friend to spend time with on shift. It makes doing _this_ more bearable." She emphasized the bearable with distain in her voice.

Ben smiled and said in return, "I thought you'd ask."

The two of them went down the sidewalk as Judy put a few tickets on the cars that had expired meters. All the while, she was talking to Ben about small stuff.

A little later, Ben and her came to a small row of rodent sized meters that the citizens of Little Rodentia use when they are out in the surrounding city itself. Judy printed out a ticket and stuck the normal sized ticket on the undersized window of the small rodent sized car. They turned away to walk to the next set of normal sized meters when a mouse shouted up at them, "Hey, lady. What gives with the ticket? You think you're a…" The mouse however stopped mid-sentence as she saw Ben turn around to face her and he glared a gaze of 'just try it, I dare you' to the female mouse.

The mouse then stuttered and said, "Uh,…never mind." She then dragged the comically sized ticket into the back of her much smaller car, nearly filling up the inside of the vehicle with just the ticket. She then started her car and drove away in a slightly noticeable hurry.

Ben and Judy continued further onward down the sidewalk, the two friends engaged in occasional small talk as Judy continued to print out tickets for the cars that were parked next to expired meters. Ben was secretly happy, though somewhat flustered at how things were going currently with his best friend. Sure, he was grateful that he happened to be driving down the very same street where she and that moose were in conflict with one another. He knew that if he hadn't stepped in when he did that things might have become volatile enough that Judy could have gotten hurt from that moose. He knew she could handle her own against a moose most likely due to her police training, but the situation seemed a bit too heated to be able to know for certain. Ben thought maybe it was just the part of him that loved her that caused him to step in, but he was glad he did regardless.

Judy on the other hand was thankful in her own way. She felt flattered actually that Ben was willing to risk his own well-being, though not surprisingly, to protect her. He was a military soldier now turned officer after all. She did have to wonder why he was so protective of her. She didn't mind it to be truthful, but it felt a little weird for a police officer to be protected by a CFM officer. She was worried if any of this might get back to her boss, or if people and animals would take something like this to believe that the ZPD was weak and had to rely on the humans to protect their own officers. She had to know at least some form of an answer.

"Hey Ben" she asked with a curious upbeat to her voice?

Ben was currently leaning against a light post as Judy was printing another ticket. He looked at her, still leaning against the light post and said, "What's up?"

Judy's ears were halfway up as she put the ticket printer back on the holder on her hip and said, "Not that I mind what you did back there, but I got to ask. Why did you do what you did to that moose?"

Ben was not quite catching the full meaning of what she was implying and so he simply said, "Cause he was being a bigoted, whining emotional prick with a rock shoved up his fucking ass."

Judy rolled her eyes at the colorful words that her friend used and sighed slightly before saying, "No, I get that Ben. Other than being a…um, prick, I was asking why did you do it? Did you feel like I was in danger?"

Ben's chilled posture tensed up slightly after she finished her sentence, he was slightly caught off-guard as he looked around for a few seconds before he said, "Heh…uh, well to be honest and truthful, I had no idea what was going to happen between the two of you. I mean look what he did to me, he tried to push me."

Judy put her paws on her hips as she said, "Ben, you do know that I'm not some fragile flower, right? I can protect myself."

Ben chuckled and said, "Oh I know that quite well miss 'I took out a rhino with a flying kick to his hand at the academy'." Ben then shrugged his shoulders, trying to hide his true emotions as he said, "To be honest, it seemed like the right thing to do at the time. I don't know why I did what I did."

Judy stood there incredulously looking at him as she was trying to tell what he might be trying to hide. Ben maintained a cool enough posture on the outside to try to prevent her from prying deeper, but on the inside, he was freaking out. If she tried to pry deeper, he knew what the answer was that he didn't want to give…

 _I love you and I couldn't live with myself knowing that I wasn't able to protect you and be there for you…_

Judy smirked and chuckled slightly as she knew he was hiding something, but she didn't want to try to play 20 questions with his thoughts he seemed uncomfortable with sharing. So rather she just said, "Right, well when you feel comfortable with telling me what's on your mind, I'll be here for you Ben."

Ben let out a soft sound somewhere between a gulp and a sigh of relief. Judy started walking away towards a larger mammal sized yellow car that had the meter just expire. Ben walked behind her as they came up to the meter. Judy had put the ticket on the car under the wiper as a Hippo mother and her young daughter came out of a shop to see a meter maid by their car. The hippo mother, needless to say, looked quite upset over the ticket she just got. She came out from the front of the shop with her daughter in tow and said coldly to Judy, "Hey fluffbutt, what's your deal? I'm 30 seconds over."

Judy looked up at the slightly heavyset (even for a hippo) hippo and said, "I'm just doing my job ma'am. I'm…"

The hippo just glared at Judy as she then said, "Yeah, and is that job to indiscriminately hand out tickets to those that don't deserve it?"

Ben came up to where the hippo mother was after hearing Judy getting hounded once again. He couldn't believe the hostility that this city had towards Judy and, more specifically, a meter maid in general. Ben grinned inwardly as he knew they probably had no idea that she was an officer. Ben decided to make that point known to the hippo as he then said out loud, "What's going on here Officer Hopps?"

Judy peered behind her as she said, "Huh" quite confused at Ben's question? She figured that Ben would clearly be able to tell that she was getting yet more flak from the citizens of Zootopia for just doing her job.

Meanwhile, the hippo mother's expression changed from one of anger to nervousness as she said in mild shock and disbelief, "O..Officer?"

 _Right where I want her_ Ben thought slyly.

Ben stood there coolly as he said, "Oh yeah, surely you heard of Judy Hopps, the first rabbit officer for the ZPD. Out here making a name for her species, proving that no matter your species, you can be whatever you set your mind to. It's a shame to be arguing a ticket with a police officer, you know, a police officer that might end up saving your life during a mugging or a home intrusion at some point. Maybe instead of being whiny, you could be more thankful that the cops are doing their actual jobs."

The hippo mother's eyes were wide with a mixture of emotions, including shame and anger at the same time. She didn't want to be shown up by a human of all species, but she knew that the human was right. This very same officer that gave me a ticket may save my life tomorrow…and my daughters.

The hippo mother let out a sound between a growl and a sigh as she said upset, "I'm sorry officer." She gripped the ticket angrily in her paws as she was still pissed about getting a ticket. She got in their car with her daughter as they drove away.

Judy watched the two drive away as she turned to Ben when they were out of sight and gave him a gaze of being impressed. She was shocked that Ben still was the same strong and intelligent person he, even after the events that the war had thrown upon him. She was once again feeling blessed to have a friend such as him, but she knew that there was an inevitable truth from this. Ben may well be doing this for her because he liked her…like liked her. The thought of this alone made her heart beat race as she knew that what her mother said was true. There was nothing wrong with her loving Ben. He really was intelligent and caring at the same time.

Ben and Judy were heading back to the Tuk-Tuk vehicle as Judy climbed in first. Ben soon followed as the two of them sat down to take a short break from all the walking they were doing. Just then, a door flung open near them. Ben's eyes darted up as he saw a weasel run past the patrol vehicle with a duffle bag over his head. Judy noticed a pig chasing after the weasel briefly as he was shouting, "Hey hey hey."

The pig then looked around panicked and saw Ben and Judy sitting in their patrol vehicle near him. The pig was more interested with the rabbit that may be an officer than he was with Ben, who he had no idea was in the CF military.

The pig ran over to the patrol vehicle and started shouting, "You, Bunny!"

Judy gazed at the pig as she said, "Sir, what's wrong? What's going on?"

The pig looked around spastically as he gestured very rapidly, "My shop just got robbed, and that's what's wrong."

The pig then pointed at the weasel and shouted, "Look, he's getting away. Are you a cop, or not?"

He was very upset, near the point of being hysterical.

Judy's eyes went wide as a smile broke out on her muzzle as she acknowledged with much energy, "Oh, yes. Yes! Don't worry sir I got him."

Ben then shouted, "I'm coming with you Judy, that fuckers already got a head start on you."

Judy shouted, "Great Ben, lets go."

Ben and Judy hopped out of the patrol vehicle as Judy threw off her meter maid hat and her orange safety vest and started chasing after the weasel in her police uniform. Judy was very fast all things considered, but that was due to both her training and her naturally strong legs as a rabbit. Ben still managed to keep you with her due to his military training. He took notice of the direction the slippery bastard was heading and Ben realized that he was going to be running past "his" HUMVEE.

He then shouted to Judy, "Judy, he's heading towards the direction of my HUMVEE. I've got something in there that'll help."

Judy looked at Ben as she kept on running, "Alright, but making it fast. We can't let this guy get away."

Ben and Judy split up at an intersection up ahead. Ben took a street that lead towards his HUMVEE. A driver in a car was talking on his phone while driving and didn't see that Ben was running across the intersection as he was about to turn. The driver, who looked away for a second and then looked back, just noticed Ben and slammed the brakes on his car. Ben was too close and running to fast to change direction, so he leapt onto the hood of the car and ran over it, the driver screaming at Ben for doing what he was doing. The driver rolled down the window and shouted at Ben, "Fucking watch where you're going human."

However, another car that was behind the car ben had ran over was too distracted by Ben running past him down the street at marathon speeds. The driver of the first car, a wolf, got rear ended by the other driver of the car behind him, an elk. Metal grinded as glass shattered from the impact, leaving both drivers with damaged cars.

Ben knew what had happened as he could hear the accident himself, but he didn't even look back to see what had happened. He was more concerned with catching that weasel fuck than anything else. Ben was still thinking in his mind, _Just what I need when I'm helping Judy catch her first criminal…collateral damage. Fucking lovely._

Judy meanwhile was chasing after the weasel as she shouted to him, "Stop!"

The weasel looked behind him as he was still running to see of all things a rabbit in an officers uniform chasing him.

He heard Judy shout at him again, "Stop in the name of the law."

The weasel then egged Judy on and said, "Catch me if you can cottontail."

The two of them ran into a busy central area of a city where trams drove by on tracks, cars drove by on streets and animals and humans were walking from store front to store front in the central area of the district.

The weasel ran through the legs of an elephant walking by as he tried to avoid getting stepped on. Soon a police car pulled up and stopped in front of the weasel, lights running and siren droning. The weasel ran under the vehicle as Officer Mchorn stepped out of the squad car and started to report into dispatch, "This is Mchorn, we got a 10-31…"

He was however interrupted by Judy who slid down the back of his squad car and shouted, "I got dibs." She turned back and looked at Mchorn as she hopped backwards and shouted, "Officer Hopps is in pursuit. Whoop, Whooo!"

She followed the weasel, getting a little winded herself, but still able to keep up due to her stamina and training. She hoped that Ben would get here soon as this weasel was proving to be quite fast and elusive.

Ben meanwhile had just reached his HUMVEE and stopped to open the driver side door. He reached in quickly and searched through the storage racks of the vehicle trying to find what he needed. He suddenly shouted, "Got ya!"

He climbed out holding a G3A3 assault rifle in his hands with a magazine loaded into the rifle. The mag had a line of black tape going around the magazine, but otherwise was identical to a normal G3A3. Ben pulled back the charging handle for the 7.62mm NATO chambered rifle and slammed the door closed for the HUMVEE and locked it. He then sprinted back the direction he came from, where he had separated from Judy. He began to think to himself, _How am I going to find her and that fuck now?_

Ben then heard a siren start up in the distance and as he rounded the corner to the busy central area that Judy ran through before, he saw a squad car do a three point turn and peel out driving towards an street that connected to the area.

Ben then cleverly thought, _Follow the cop cars._

He took off towards where the cop car had gone, running through the intersection. The animals and people shopping gave Ben every response from giving him a wide birth as the human sprinted by, to some screaming "He's got a gun!"

Ben groaned to himself, "Fucking great, just what I needed. To be thought of _as_ the criminal."

Meanwhile, Judy was following the weasel still as the weasel was nearing Little Rodentia. The weasel got the brilliant idea to try to lose Judy in there. He bent down slightly and threw the bag high into the air. As the weasel was running closer towards the brick and iron wall of Little Rodentia, several mice took notice of the weasel approaching and screamed. They scurried out of the way just before the thieving weasel ducked down and ran through an opening in the wall designed for smaller animals, but still bigger than a typical rodent. He stopped and caught the bag he had thrown in the air as it landed into his open hands, chuckling slyly to himself.

In the midst of this chase and unbeknownst to either Judy or Ben, both the CF security in the city and the ZPD were being notified about a crime in progress. This crime happened to involve the same exact weasel that Ben and Judy were chasing, but due to no official communication to either side about a member of their force dealing with the crime, both groups began to respond. The CF military stationed in the surrounding Savanna Central received a report about a store being robbed and sent a security team of 6 soldiers to respond. The ZPD, based on the communication that Mchorn relayed back to Precinct 1, sent another officer to respond and assist Mchorn, Snarvlof.

Judy meanwhile was hot on his trail and she slid through the opening dude to the fact that she was running too fast to be able to slow down fast enough. The blessing of her strong legs from being a rabbit also was sometimes a curse for her as well. She looked around for the weasel and saw the bag that the weasel was carrying earlier being carried over his head, making only the bag visible between the buildings. Judy then shouted, "You!" The weasel froze in place and clearly knew where Judy was due to him turning his whole body towards her direction. Only the bag and his arms were visible doing this to her, but the weasel then took off running, to which Judy shouted, "Freeze!"

Meanwhile, Officer Mchorn ran up towards the gate of the city within a city and shouted, "Hey, meter maid! Wait for the real cops!"

Almost immediately afterwards, Snarvlof had finally arrived on scene in his own ZPD cruiser. The big and intimidating bear climbed out of his cruiser and ran over to where Mchorn was and said, "Mchorn, I overheard your transmission about the 10-31. Did our meter maid actually go after the perp?"

Mchorn shorted annoyed as he said, "Yes, and she had to have abandoned her post as well to be in pursuit."

The bear chuckled amusingly as he said, "Oh the Chief is going to have a few choice words for her."

Mchorn said, "Yeah, but that's for later, we need to stop that perp. You enter from the…"

However, Mchorn was interrupted by the sounds of a loud diesel engine approaching as they looked behind them in confusion to see a CF MRAP drive towards them in a rush and pull to a sudden stop, the air brakes hissing as the vehicle stopped. The doors for the vehicle swung open as four soldiers dressed in a digital urban camouflage climbed out of the vehicle. The two officers noticed a HUMVEE driving down the street that connected to the "T" intersection they were standing near, presumably to drop off more CF security.

Unlike the CF military, which were present in the city in smaller concentrations outside of the military bases, the CF city security is the human government's equivalent to the ZPD. They enforce the law and keep peace within the city under the jurisdiction of the human dominated CF government. The CF security are not as heavily armed as a typical CF military squad was, only armed with burst fire rifles like M16A4's and SIG 556's. They are the most commonly seen members of the CF armed forces that Zootopia citizens see, yet the military still hold a presence in the city as well.

Mchorn snorted again as he said, "Oh great, its these clowns here to take credit and respect away from the ZPD again."

Snarvlof was livid towards the CF security for the simple reason that they have been stealing the spotlight that the ZPD used to have in protecting the city and keeping the peace. They were originally supposed to work with the ZPD as an asset, but have since taken a more independent role towards policing the streets themselves. Snarvlof wasn't the only one at the ZPD that hated these security guys, that much was certain.

Judy, meanwhile, kept running off as she was chasing the weasel through the streets of Little Rodentia. Judy gave chase to the weasel as he stepped on a pair of mouse sized cars and began to use them as roller skates. He spun around still going forwards and laughed mockingly at Judy due to him gaining distance from her. He also did a few fast footed tricks with the cars until he turned back around and reached a building in his way. He climbed up onto the building and started running from rooftop to rooftop like the buildings were stepping stones.

He reached the end of the buildings and leapt onto a monorail track and ran out of sight. Meanwhile, the buildings started to fall like dominos, the weasel having moved them out of their foundation due to them not being heavy and poorly connected to the ground. They didn't need to be after all as there was nothing in Little Rodentia that could make a building shift enough, mainly due to the lack of strength that the rodents had. The weasel however, was not a typical animal to this smaller city. Judy climbed up on the roof of the first building and saw them toppling like dominos…towards her. She got in between a larger building and the falling buildings and could only pray that she wouldn't tumble with this building in front of her onto the building behind her. She knew, however, that she had to stop the "dominos" from going further. She pushed with all her might with her strong legs and managed to push the buildings back towards their original direction, halting the domino effect. She climbed off the building and carefully walked around the scurrying rodents as she apologized profusely for her presence that was scaring them all.

"Pardon me, excuse me, pardon" she said nervously.

She climbed up on the monorail tracks to see where the weasel had vanished to and just as she climbed up, she heard a train horn. She looked towards the direction and saw a mouse sized train barreling towards her. She screamed and leapt off the tracks, rolling on impact with the ground as the train sped past her , along with the weasel.

"Bonvoyage, flatfoot" taunted the weasel, caysing Judy to growl in response as she gave chase once again.

Meanwhile, Ben was having mized results in this city within a city as well. He was much taller than the buildings around him, and could see well enough to see what was happening around most of Little Rodentia from his height. However, he could only see above the ocean of buildings around him. He heard somebody say, "Bonvoyage, flatfoot." He looked up a bit higher than the buildings to see the weasel riding on a monorail train, Ben's sightline being interrupted infrequently by the "skyscrapers" that were taller than the surrounding city. Ben grinned to himself and readied his gun, his sight trained on the weasel as he sped along. Ben pulled the trigger a few times, each pull firing a bullet from the gun. The weasel heard something strike the train under him and he jumped back, nearly falling off the train. He looked up and briefly saw a human with a rifle aiming in his direction. The weasel was about to jump off the train, when Judy hopped down from a higher building from the tracks level onto the train. She landed near the weasel and ran towards him as he stared wide eyed at the officer approaching him. Judy nearly tackled the weasel as she tried to apprehend him on a speeding train. The two struggled for a while, the weasel still standing, but losing the fight against the rabbit officer. However, the weasel then heard another report of a rifle firing just before he fell off the train, along with Judy. He had no clue if he had been hit or not. However, that was the least of his concerns as he fell of the train tracks and rolled across the street below from the inertia as the train turned, now heading left on the track. Judy had fallen with the weasel but stopped rolling shortly after she hit the ground. Judy was thankful that whatever rifle that was fired at her direction, presumably from Ben, had missed her in her struggle with the weasel. She briefly wondered if Ben had known that his shot would miss when he fired it, or if it missed by sheer luck. She had no idea what Ben would do with himself if he had hurt her. He probably wouldn't have been able to forgive himself for injuring or even killing his best friend. The weasel, meanwhile, rolled onto his back near a donut shop as he lay there, out of breath and stunned. He then heard a familiar voice shout, "ZPD! Stay where you are!"

He sat up and saw through the donut hole that Judy was running towards him. He got an idea and got down on his back as he pulled his legs back, aiming them at the donut. The weasel than shouted back, "Have a donut, copper!"

He kicked the donut with all of his might and sent it flying off of its structural support and heading towards Judy. Judy hit the ground as she dove under the donut. Ben had run closer to see what was going on and witnessed himself that the donut barely had missed Judy by inches.

That weasel had now done something he was going to regret. He had tried to kill Judy with that donut sign. Ben could only feel his protective side go into overdrive as he knew that he had to end this now before Judy or anyone else got hurt from this fucker.

Ben aimed his rifle at the weasel as he turned around to pick up the bag and shot the weasel right in his butt. The weasel screamed in pain from the impact, but before the weasel could react, Ben set his sights just a little lower and pulled the trigger.

The projectile shot out of the gun and impacted with the weasel's genital area at subsonic speed. The weasel froze for a second before falling tumbling over on his side, his hands covering the underside of his genitals as Ben could see him stiff as a board as he had his mouth open in a silent scream. Ben knew from experience being a male that he wasn't going to go anywhere for a while since he shot him in the genital area. Ben then strolled over towards the weasel slowly as he knew it was over…or so he thought.

During this whole sequence of events, both the human security forces and the ZPD were scouring the city within a city for the weasel perp. Both sides had gotten a free glimpses of a chase going on in the city as they heard the sound of gunshots, which did nothing but expedite their search even further. Mchorn and Snarvlof were also trying to see where their meter maid had gone in this whole chase with this criminal.

Finally, the CF security found where the weasel was, laying on the ground in a fetal position cover his crotch with his paws and tears falling from his eyes. The security ran over towards the weasel and shouted, "Z-Sec (Zootopia Security), stay where you are!" One of the humans then pointed a gun at Ben and said, "You, Drop the gun now!"

Ben chuckled and said, "Stand down, soldier. Captain Benjamin Richardson, Spec Ops."

The soldier lowered his gun and immediately saluted Ben as the other 5 Z-Sec members surrounded the weasel and began to detain him. Ben looked back around to see if Judy was alright after her dive to the ground and he noticed the donut sign from the building still bouncing down the street. Ben then saw further down the road that three shrews had just left a store front, clearly done with shopping. The shrew with the tall haircut said to her girlfriends, "Oh my, did you see those leopard print jeggings?"

Meanwhile a faint thud could be heard approaching them, getting louder with each thud. The two other shrews that were shopping with the shrew that had just spoken looked over towards the thudding and screamed as they ran away. The shrew with the tall hairdo was confused as she said, "Come on, they weren't that…"

Ben meanwhile knew that he had to move fast, or he risked the remaining shrew getting killed. Ben dropped the gun to make himself lighter and took of sprinting towards the shrew, much to the confusion of the Z-Sec soldier.

However she was interrupted as a loud boom caught her attention. She turned around and saw the donut leaping in the air and about to come crashing down on her. She let out a drawn out shrill scream as Ben took notice and shouted, "Fuck!"

Within a second, faster than Ben had ever run before in his life, he made his way closer towards the shrew and grabbed the donut before it landed on her. The shrew had cringed waiting for her death, but when she heard heavy breathing near her, she looked up slowly and saw a human towering over her holding the donut in the air with both arms.

Ben breathed out a sigh of relief and said to the shrew a little sidetracked, "So...How's it going?"

The shrew bashfully and nervously twilled a lock of her hair in her paw as she said, "Fine. Thank you for saving me."

Ben smiled at the shrew as he set the donut down on the ground. Judy had just ran over towards Ben and said quite concerned, "Miss, are you alright?!"

The shrew said in her high pitched voice, "Yeah, I am now thanks to this human here."

Judy looked up at her best friend and grinned admiringly to Ben and said, "How about that? A soldier and a hero?"

Ben rubbed the back of his neck bashfully as he was complimented by Judy. Ben then said, "You alright, Judy?"

She then nodded as she said, "Yeah, I hit the ground a bit too hard. I got the wind knocked out of me, but otherwise I'm fine."

Ben then pulled Judy into a hug and said softly, "I'm glad. I'm thankful nobody was hurt, including you."

Judy was a little off-guard from the hug as she hesitated to hug ben in respond, blushing under her own fur. She finally embraced Ben and, against her own will, started to purr slightly by grinding her front teeth. Ben could hear a noise coming from Judy, but he couldn't quite place it. It sounded like she was maybe growling or something, but Ben decided to let her go of the hug, just in case she was upset or something. Judy regretfully lost his end of the hug and she stopped purring from it, much to her dismay.

Meanwhile, the duo came back to where the weasel was as Ben overheard one of the Z-Sec soldiers speak to his squad leader as he was inspecting Ben's rifle, "Well no wonder why he was down on the ground for so long. Captain Richardson shot him in the testicles with a rubber bullet."

Ben saw all of the male soldiers in the squad cringe at the sentence over the thought of them getting shot in "ping" or "pong". Ben then said to the soldiers, "Thanks for the support in detaining this asswipe." Ben then glared daggers at the weasel, to which he cowered before Ben. He then said, "This was originally a ZPD chase, so Officer Hopps here can take over."

The Z-Sec squad leader then said, "Of course, Captain' as he saluted Ben. Meanwhile, Mchorn and Snarvlof had finally found the weasel and the meter maid with a human who was conversing with the Z-Sec squad.

Mchorn then said, "Great, shown up by Z-Sec once again."

Snarvlof then pointed out, nudging Mchorn with his arm, "Hey Mchorn, I don't think that one human is with Z-Sec. What's he doing here?"

Mchorn then started walking back towards his squad car as he said, "I'm calling this in."

The bear then asked, "Calling what in?" He was clearly confused as the chase was over.

Mchorn then said, "Everything…"

 **(Later; at ZPD Precinct 1)**

It was a normal day at Precinct 1. Clawhauser was currently manning the reception area desk, acting as both dispatcher and the receptionist for the ZPD. The stress that the chubby cheetah was normally under day in and day out was something he was used to since being an officer on the force for several years prior to this. However, he was dealing with yet another problem today…or rather a reoccurring problem every day this week.

"Please somebody has to do something for him" said the otter to Clawhauser with a pleading look in her eyes.

Clawhauser's heart went out to the poor otter since her husband has been missing for 10 days. He figured that by now, the worst has happened to the male otter that was…is her husband.

He looked down at the otter and said calmingly and softly, "Now Mrs. Otterton, your going to have to wait in line like everyone else, okay?"

Just then, the front doors for the precinct came flying open with a bang as all eyes turned towards the origin of the noise. It was none other than Ben and Judy, both wearing a look of pride on their face and muzzle respectively. Ben walked in first, Judy trailing just behind him as the human carried the weasel perp from earlier over his shoulder like he was a log or something. The weasel was trapped by the donut sign from earlier, Judy not having a pair of pawcuffs to use and the Z-Sec soldiers unable to put a pair on the weasel due to Ben telling them to hand the weasel over to Judy as she was a ZPD officer. The weasel was out of it right now, his body sore from the chase, impacts and near castration of his right testicle by Ben's G3A3 rifle. Ben threw the weasel on the ground as he landed with a disoriented and dazed, "Omph…ughhhh."

Judy then shouted with pride as she jumped on the weasel, making him grunt and cry out in pain, "We popped the weasel."

Ben and Judy couldn't feel more proud of what they had accomplished. Sure Ben didn't get the car he was looking at earlier in the day for him and Adam, but what he did to help Judy made him feel like he was Judy's perfect partner in the field. Sadly, due to the continuing ban on humans assuming positions of governmental authority in Zootopia, a law not repealed since the end of the Great Pangean War, Ben could not be her partner. That and the fact that he was CF officer also prevented that from happening as well.

Judy was proud because she had finally proved her worth to the ZPD and her boss that she wasn't just some token carrot farming bunny. She was an asset to the ZPD and every bit as good as her peers.

Suddenly, the two of them were interrupted from their bask of pride by a loud booming voice that Ben swore shook the glass of the building that screamed, "HOPPS!"

The two of them cringed slightly and looked up towards the balcony to see none other than Chief Bogo standing near a railing, glaring eyes of fiery daggers at the rabbit officer and Ben. Ben's eyes locked with the chief as he shifted his gaze directly towards Ben. Ben gave him a look of that screamed "What'd she do wrong, fuck off."

Bogo then point towards presumably his office door as he still glared at them.

 **(Up in Bogo's office)**

"Abandoning your post…inciting a scurry…wreckless endangerment of rodents" read Bogo form a report of the incident in Little Rodentia and Savanna Central.

Judy was sitting in a chair, eyes wide with panic over her boss being absolutely furious at her. Ben was meanwhile standing behind her, having refused to take a seat that Bogo told him to. He was pissed at the Buffalo for chastising Judy for doing her fucking job and catching a criminal.

Ben then went to speak and said, "Now listen here, asshole…"

Bogo glared at Ben with such rage that even Ben himself hesitated to continue his sentence, but still stood his ground unflinching in the gaze of the angry beyond all reason buffalo.

"And you, don't even get me started on what you did. Collateral damage…inciting a panic…interfering in a ZPD pursuit of a suspect…" said Bogo with venom in his words.

Ben thought it ironic that he called the chase a ZPD pursuit and yet was still harassing Judy for doing her fucking job.

Bogo then looked at Judy as his expression softened from "I'm going to rip your head off and shit down your neckhole" rage to "I'm going to have you doing desk work until the day you die" rage as he looked at Judy and said, "On the plus side, you two did stop a criminal from stealing 2 dozen moldy onions."

Judy then said, "Hate to disagree with you sir, but those aren't onions. They are a…"

Bogo then slammed his hoof down on the bag as he said with gritted teeth, "I don't care if they are solid gold keys to fucking solid gold sports cars. You broke every rule in the book this week Hopps."

Ben then scoffed and said, "Really…every rule? I find that hard to believe."

Bogo then smirked at Ben, which made both Ben and Judy nervous as he said, "Oh really, how about the fact that Hopps had a non-ZPD citizen accompany her on meter maid patrol and also…"

Ben then said with anger, "I'm a Captain in the CF military Spec Ops division. I outrank you shithead and I can assist with ZPD matters since I'm CF military."

Bogo was one step short of punching Ben's head straight off his neck, but he certainly didn't want the CF and any high ranking officer breathing down his neck for that.

Bogo let out a sigh and started rubbing his temples with his right hoof and said, "Then you can go sit in the corner human and let me deal with my officer who broke protocol."

Ben was about to say something to Bogo when Clawhauser's voice beamed in over the speaker on Bogo's desk phone.

"Um Chief, Mrs. Otterton is here to see you" said the cheetah.

Bogo then put his hoof on a button on the phone and said, "NOT NOW" in a booming voice, clearly on the verge of murdering somebody at this rate, or having an aneurism!

The cheetah then said, "Sir, she really ne…" He paused for a second before saying, "Wait… , you ca…" then his voice cut out.

Bogo was about to dig back into Judy with a lecture on breaking protocol as the door for the office opened and swung open. On the other side was none other than Mrs. Otterton, who looked like she had a bone to pick with the chief.

Mrs. Otterton then stormed in and said, "Chief Bogo, I need to talk to you now!"

Clawhauser ran into the doorway, heaving and gasping for breath as he said, "I'm sor…sorry Chief I tr…tired to…stop her."

He paused and turned around with his paw on his back and said, "I got to go sit down."

He walked away as Mrs. Otterton came up to Bogo and said pleadingly, "I've been trying to get to talk to you for days about my husband and every time I get pushed aside."

Ben's head perked up when he overheard her talking about her husband and he could only assume the worst that might be.

Bogo was clearly off-guard as he said, "I know, Mrs. Otterton. He's part of our missing animal cases."

Ben then asked her, "What missing animals cases?"

Before she could respond, Bogo glared at Ben and said, "Shut it human."

Ben so wanted to know what was going on, and he so wanted to punch the buffalos lights out for how stubborn and infuriating the guy was.

Judy's ears were perked up as she overheard what was being discussed as well.

Mrs. Otterton pulled out a photo and said, "Please, there's got to be somebody to find my Emmett. He's been missing for 10 days. We have 2 beautiful children, he would never just disappear."

Ben's mind was buzzing with sympathy for the female otter, as well as emotions of anger as he imagined how he would feel if Adam or equally worse…Judy, had turned up missing. He couldn't even begin to imagine the lengths he would go, what he would do or who he might have to kill to get her or his son back.

Judy meanwhile felt her heart go out to the otter who was being shafted by her stupid boss. He clearly didn't want to go beyond what was needed to help find her husband, or even the other missing animals. She knew she had to do something.

Bogo then said, "Mrs. Otterton…"

Then both Judy and Ben spoke up simultaneously and said, "I'll find him."

They paused shocked and looked at each other, amazed at not only the simultaneous response, but also the desire that the other had to find somebody that they knew nothing about.

They locked eyes with each other as Ben and Judy looked away slightly bashful and slightly embarrassed at what had happened.

Bogo looked at both of them with a look of shock as Mrs. Otterton ran over towards the two of them and hugged each one of them gratefully saying, "Oh bless you. Bless you, you two."

She was crying at the thought that somebody was now going to actually put in visible and tangible effort to find her husband.

She then handed Judy a photo of her husband as she said, "Please find Emmett and bring him home to me and my babies, please." Her voice was full of plead and a desire to see her husband again.

Bogo then cleared his throat as he said, "Mrs. Otterton, can you wait out here a second?"

He genstured to the open office door as she said with relief, "Oh, yes. Thank you so much."

Bogo nodded and said with a slightly high pitched tone, "One sec."

He closed the door lightly and glared back at Judy before saying with gritted teeth, "You're fired."

Ben and Judy were both in shock as Judy looked around confused and said with a stutter, "Uh, w…why?"

Bogo then said, "For what stands from earlier and NOW unauthorized acceptance of an ALREADY in progress investigation."

Ben then stepped forwards as he said, "Hey, buffalo fuck. You got no feelings or something? That otter…"

Ben was interrupted by Bogo who said, "And you…if you weren't CF military, I'd have you thrown out of here on your ass."

Bogo then said, "So human, this is what's going to happen. I'm going to open this door and your girlfriend is going to tell that otter that she will…not…be…taking…the…case."

Both ben and Judy glanced at each other for a few seconds before looking away as both blushed slightly over what Bogo had said.

Bogo opened the door and now, on the other side was the otter from before, but now there was somebody else.

Bogo then said with a nervous tone, "Assistant Mayor Bellwhether."

The sheep was on the other end of the door along with the otter as she said, "I just heard Officer Hopps and a human are taking the case."

She then said quite happy, trying to contain her excitement, "The animal inclusion initiative is really paying off. Mayor Lionheart is just going to be so jazzed."

She shook and the bell around her neck jingled with her eager movements in place.

Bogo then said pleadingly, "No let's not tell the mayor just yet."

Dawn then sent the text she was sending her boss on her phone and she said, "And it is sent, so I did do that" to herself.

Bogo hoofpalmed himself with annoyance stricken frustration. Dawn then walked in and grabbed Judy's paw as she said, "Looks like the case is in good hands now. Us little guys need to stick together right?"

Judy said with a little chipperness over Dawn's inclusion in this whole fiasco possibly saving her job as she said, "Like glue."

Dawn then said with a chuckle, "Oh, good one."

Dawn then looked at Ben and walked over to him and said, "And who is this human that has volunteered to help look for this missing otter?"

Dawn clearly showed quite a bit of wonder and fascination with the muscular and grizzled human.

Ben then saluted her and said with pride, "Captain Benjamin Richardson of the CF military, Spec Ops division."

Dawn then chuckled and said, "Oh, eagerness and the skills to match it. Good choice, Chief Bogo…if a little unorthodox."

She was clearly referring to the as of yet repealed ban on humans entering positions of Zootopian governmental authority, which Dawn must have interpreted Ben's involvement in this whole thing as Ben being given some authority over a ZPD investigation rather than Ben working on this in Z-Sec with his own government and through his own political channels.

Bogo chuckled nervously as Ben was quite amused that the once furious Buffalo was now a nervous wreckage since Dawn's arrival.

Dawn then started walking out with Mrs. Otterton as she said, "Alright, bye-bye."

Bogo closed the door slowly and then let out a huge sigh as he looked conflicted.

Ben and Judy stood there with batted breath wondering what he was going to do.

Bogo then said as he turned around, "I will give you two 48 hours."

Judy jumped for joy as she said, "Yes!"

Ben was for once not filled with a desire to rip the Buffalo's head off and use it for a practice target.

Ben then said, "Thanks Chief."

Bogo then said to Judy, "But…!"

Judy looked up at the chief as he then smugly said, "You strike out, you resign."

Judy's ears flopped back on her head as she said with surprise, "Oh…"

She looked down at the floor briefly as she pondered about it for a few seconds, unsure if she could handle the case with that type of pressure.

She then looked back up at Bogo and said, "Alright, deal."

Ben wanted to yell at the chief for still trying to find a way to get rid of Judy, but he figured he didn't want to risk it now that she got a chance to prove herself. After all, asshat could make it less than 48 hours.

Bogo then said with an uncomfortable smile and tone, "Splendid. Clawhauser will give you the complete casefile."

Ben and Judy left his office as they could have sworn they heard the Chief chuckle to himself as he closed the door.

Ben and Judy made their way back downstairs to Clawhauser.

 **(At the front desk with Clawhauser)**

"Here you guys go, one missing otter" said the bubbly cheetah.

Judy opened the manila folder that Clawhauser had handed her and saw inside with shick that there was only one piece of paper that had the report on the missing animal, Emmett Otterton, as well as a photo of his last known sighting.

Judy said with Shock, "That's it?!"

Ben chimed in as well, "Well damn, that's not a lot to work with now is there."

Clawhauser confirmed the size of the file by saying, "That is the smallest case file I have ever seen. Leads none, witnesses none and resources…none." He then chuckled and said not knowingly, "Oh, I hope you didn't stake your career on cracking this one."

Clawhauser shook the donut he was eating in gesture over the file, causing some sprinkles to drop on the folder.

Judy and Ben looked at each other and knew that only one thing was on their minds right now…

 _Fuck…_

Judy took a deep breath and said, "Okay, last known sighting…"

She tried examining the photo for anything that might hold a clue. She recognized something as the cheetah next to her was finishing the cub soda he was drinking, him now making a slurping sound in the empty bottle with the straw.

Judy then saw what Clawhauser was using and got an idea. She then grabbed the bottle that was empty and said at the same time, "Can I just grab…Thank you."

She then examined the photo with the bottle, the bottle now acting as a magnifying glass of sorts. Her ears went up in anticipation as she studied the photo. Ben noticed that she said sullenly, "Oh no…"

Ben was worried as he said, "What? What's wrong?"

Judy set the bottle down as she hung her head in dismay as she realized that she had a lead. She just didn't like who it was that was the lead.

Judy then said with annoyance and frustration, "I found am possible lead…"

Ben then responded confused as he said, "That would be…"

She then looked at Ben as she said with grief, "Nick Wilde…"

Ben just gave a quite annoyed sigh, 'Not this son of a bitch' he said in his mind.

* * *

 **Constructive critics is welcomed, we'll try to update this as fast as we can, hopefully summer break will give us a lot of time.**

 **Anyways see you guys later.**

* * *

 ** _I know a lot of you are waiting patiently for the next chapter, but due to recent delays and me and my co-author just losing interest in writing by that I mean losing the interest on writing anymore Zootopia stories._**

 ** _This story is my own personal project, Hell it's my baby, ever since I watch Zootpia 2 times back on 2016, I started making my own lore and building up my own OC, but with not a lot of Zootopia Stoires being posted and the Zootopia fever dying down, this story is officially on Hold for the time being._**

 ** _Right now I am looking for a co-author (1 or 2) with good or adequet wiritng, until than the story is on hold._**

 ** _I apologize for this again people._**


	8. Help Needed

_**Hi everybody, Look I know you guys are anxious to see the next chapter as this story is close to being a year old, trust me I want this story to be done and see my work done but since I'm down a Co-author, a bloody good one at that, I don't see this story being done, I can't write stories worth for shit but I am slowlying learning experimenting with 2 stories I myself is writing, I wont do this one cause i dont want this story to be stain by my shitty ways.**_

 _ **Right now I'm in need of a Co-author who has adequate to good writing, someone who can put a lot of detail and love into the project, and someone I can relay on, think of it like this in the director and I'll tell you how the chapter goes and all and in return you'll get credit for this and that will benefit you too in the end.**_

 _ **If anyone is interested send me a message I'll feed you the lore of my story and I want you to re-read all 7 chapters to get a good look on how this story is,**_ _ **Again, I apologize for not being reliable, so help would greatly appreciated.**_

 _ **Note: This is for those Critics United assholes, yes I know I'm not suppose to do this but no one looks at my profile and the forums here are useless, so I'm putting it here, if you do t like it than why did you click on this in the first place? So be do us a favor and stop policing us authors.**_


	9. Reboot and Spin-OFF Annoucment

**So after much thinking of weather I should keep writing this story, I read it again and realize that some scenes didn't make sense, and some scenes aren't like how I picture them, so after much thinking and weighing the pros/cons I decided to reboot this story, adding more scenes, removing some scenes, more details and sculpting it on how I want it to be, the easiest thing about this is I don't need to start from scratch as I have the chapters to work on, and I planned into trying to write the next chapter by myself, although I would still need a Co-author or two to help me, I'm always looking for feedback and would welcome on what scenes to fix or change, you just tell me and how would you like the scene or chapter change.**

 **The changes I'm going to make are these things.**

 **1\. Ben's attitude, and personality (both post-war and Pre-war) will change as I found him too aggressive when talking to Nick, sure he suffers from mild ptsd from the war but he isn't easily enrage, he's like Punisher but only when he's calm he is still very scary.**

 **2\. Adam's age is going to be changed rather than be a 13 yr old bunny He is going to be either 8 or 10 as now he's more like a teen than a kid.**

 **3\. There's going to be a much more detail and in depth retake on chapter 1.**

 **4\. Leo and Mangle didn't die and will serve as supporting characters when the Asylum chapter comes up.**

* * *

 **Another Annocument is I plan to do a spin off call** ** _Our War,_** **the title says it all it's a Story all based on the Pangean War it will cover more battles, adding more lore, and show some parts from the Humanist Republic pov such as them launching failed operations in trying to invade parts of Zootopia such as Sahara, Meadow Lands, and Outback Island (it will have a Gallipoli feeling to it) only to be pushed back from heavy defenses and suffering thousands of casualties, the weird thing is I have the name of the chapters already and how there going to be.**

 **Chapter 1: They Will Not Pass: Shows on how the Commwealth Fedration Military hold the line and make sure the HR don't break thru, it's based on the Measue Argonne Offensive, and Storm of Steel from BF1**

 **Chapter 2: In the Name of The Republic!: Shows the only victory the HR had when launching man offensive that drives back the CF only to run out of resources and ammunition and exhausting all their manpower, they are pushed back with heavy losses. Based on the Brusilov Offensive and Battle of Tannenberg**

 **Chapter 3: Turning the Tide: The HR launch a suicidal operation in trying to land troops using old dreadnoughts and row boats on the Zootopia mainland but are greeted with heavy defenses like CFM MGs, Artillery, and Helicopters and also a failed air raid using WW1 era planes and bombers to try and hit Bunnyburrow only to be met with Anti-air chainguns and Fighter jets and attack helicopters. Based on the Gallipoli Campaign and the London Air Raids of ww1**

 **Chapter 4: End of The World: Covers the most brutal battles of the Pangean War, battles such as Battle of Kirkland, Battle of Gallen, and the Clash of Machines as old tanks try to fight modern tanks, this will show the carnage, the deaths, the brutality of war, based on The Battle of Passchendaele, Battle of the Somme, and the Battle of Kurs**

 **Rather than glorifying war, this spin off will show the brutality of war and just how brutal the conflict was, and yes the titles of the chapter are based off the DLCs of BF1, what can I say, I just love that game.**


End file.
